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Trump hasn’t posted $464 million bond in fraud case. Here’s what the New York attorney general could do now.
Former President Donald Trump and other defendants have not posted the nearly half a billion dollars in bond needed to pause enforcement of a judge’s February ruling in a New York civil fraud case, potentially leaving some of his prized real estate and other assets vulnerable to seizure by the state.
As the clock struck midnight Monday, time expired on a 30-day grace period that New York Attorney General Letitia James allowed for Trump and his co-defendants to secure a bond as they pursue an appeal of the $464 million judgment in his New York civil fraud trial. She has indicated her office may soon act on the judgment.
“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” she said during a February interview with ABC News.
Attorneys for Trump wrote in a March 18 filing in the case that it was a “practical impossibility” for the defendants to secure such a large bond. He had not secured a bond as of Saturday evening, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
“Very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” wrote the lawyers, Alina Habba, Clifford Robert, Christopher Kise and John Sauer. They noted that surety providers often require collateral up to 120% to guarantee the bond, driving the amount Trump might need over $500 million.
Trump claimed to have nearly $500 million in cash in a Truth Social post on March 22. In depositions and testimony in 2023, he claimed to have between $300 and $400 million.
JD Weisbrot, managing director of the surety operation at Risk Strategies, said Trump’s options were “frankly very limited.”
“The issue is that this type of bond is very hazardous in nature to a surety company. And why is that? It’s a demand instrument, the bond guarantees that in the event that the defendant loses the appeal, that the sum be immediately made available to the plaintiff,” Weisbrot said.
As a result, Weisbrot said surety companies want liquid assets as collateral, specifically cash or a letter of credit, and not hard assets like real estate.
James’ office has not said what exactly it will do once it begins to enforce the judgment — which stems from a civil case in which a judge found Trump and others connected to his company liable for a decade-long scheme to use falsified real estate and net worth valuations to obtain favorable loan and insurance rates. The judge concluded Trump and others gained more than $364 million through the scheme.
Bruce Lederman, an attorney who specializes in real estate law for the New York firm DL Partners, said James’ office has a range of options to choose from in its effort to enforce the judgment.
“At this point, the attorney general can start enforcement proceedings, which could include sending restraining notices, could include sending executions to the sheriff for real property, could include tying up security accounts, could include sending notices to companies that they can’t make any payments to Donald Trump personally, or any of the children – the boys, against whom judgments are entered,” said Lederman, referring to Trump’s adult sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
To execute on Trump’s real property, James could get judicial liens against the properties. In New York, the process to sell a property takes 63 days. The sheriff’s office must publicly post notice of sale in three places in the town or city where the property is located, and the notice must be published four times throughout that period. After 63 days, there is a sheriff’s sale, typically on the courthouse steps.
However, untangling the web of ownership of some of Trump’s properties may be challenging. In the event of sale, there are also loans and mortgages that could impact how much the state can even collect – not to mention the disputed valuation of Trump’s properties, an issue that was at the heart of the civil fraud trial.
For properties located outside of Manhattan, James has to enter the judgment with local jurisdictions — even those as near as suburban Westchester County, New York, where her office registered the judgment on March 6.
“The New York judgment can be filed in any state and is then entitled to full faith and credit under the Constitution,” said Lederman, who noted that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club might be more complicated to seize than other properties. “Enforcement rights in other states would be based upon the law of the state where property is located. For example, Florida does not allow a sale of a primary residence.”
Adam Pollock, a former New York assistant attorney general, said a restraining notice would limit Trump’s ability to spend freely.
“A restraining notice … says, ‘Don’t spend money, don’t transfer any property, until you pay us.’ And for good reason. You shouldn’t be out, you know, fueling up your jets with $20,000 of gas, when you owe the people in the state of New York nearly $500 million,” said Pollock.
Pollock said James’ office could get a bank execution and give it to a New York sheriff or marshal, who can then walk into a bank branch and drain Trump’s account. A bank normally has to wait at least 27 days to turn over the money in an account — unless the plaintiff is the state of New York, in which case, the bank is supposed to transfer the funds immediately.
James can also sign an execution forcing Trump to turn over his personal property.
“If I have a judgment against you, I get to take any property I can find of yours. Whether it’s your Rembrandt, your Rolls Royce, or your iPad, or like your 500 LLCs that you happen to own,” said Pollock.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, could ultimately end up among the one in 100 Americans whose pay is withheld so creditors can collect.
Adam Kaufmann, an attorney at Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss, said the state could garnish Trump’s income and revenues from the Mar-a-Lago Club, for example.
“You could have a president of the United States having his wages garnished by a creditor,” Kaufmann said.
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Dublin’s Grafton Street was mobbed last month when word spread that Coldplay was coming to shoot the video for their new single, “We Pray.”
“I was a little nervous for you there in the beginning,” said Mason.
“Yeah, but you have to just trust in the goodness of people – and the proficiency of the police!” laughed Chris Martin.
Martin was joined by collaborators Burna Boy, Tini, Elyanna and Little Simz. “The five of us actually had never actually played the song in the same place before,” said Martin. “So, our first time doing it was on the street in the middle of all those people.”
Coldplay was in Dublin for four sold-out nights at Croke Park, on their “Music of the Spheres” world tour. With more than 10 million tickets sold, and box office of over $1 billion, Billboard has crowned it “the biggest rock tour of all time.”
Mason asked drummer Will Champion, “You guys are in the middle of literally a record-breaking tour. Does it feel like that to you?”
“Sometimes it’s hard to see the woods for the trees,” Champion replied. “We’re aware that we’re having such a great time. We’re really enjoying ourselves.”
“It definitely was extremely loud last night,” said bassist Guy Berryman.
Champion, Berryman, Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland haven’t always felt the love, especially in the early years. But critics, who once asked “Why does everyone hate Coldplay?” are now calling them “the 21st century’s defining band.”
“It seems like you’ve kind of been fully embraced even by the music critics,” said Mason.
“Well, you’re very sweet. I mean, that’s just not true!” laughed Martin.
“I don’t think you’re ever fully embraced,” said Buckland.
“Also, we are really not a rock band,” said Martin. “So, when we’re judged by those parameters, we’re always gonna come up short. One thing I’d say that we’ve become more comfortable with is just being ourselves.”
Their catalog of hits stretches across a quarter of a century. Martin said, “The truth of it is, some songs arrive fully formed, basically – not Jonny’s parts or Will’s or Guy’s parts, but my part. And those are the rarest, but they’re always the best, the ones that I had least to do with.”
“But sometimes they’re the hardest to produce, because you don’t want to ruin them!” laughed Buckland.
Martin says he can feel that right away: “Definitely, yeah. The songs of ours that have connected with the most people, they connected with me first. I was like, ‘Oh, this is really good!’ ‘Yellow,’ ‘Viva La Vida,’ ‘Fix You,’ ‘Sky Full of Stars.’ They just land.”
“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay:
“So, in a strange way, you’re listening to it, you’re the first person to listen to it; that’s what it feels like,” said Martin. “With the song ‘We Pray,’ we were in Taiwan on tour about ten months ago. I think it was after a show and I woke up in the middle of the night, this song was just in my head called ‘We Pray.’ And it said, ‘You have to get outta bed and do this now.'”
Coldplay performed “We Pray” with their collaborators on stage for the first time in Dublin. “To have heard a song in the middle of the night in Taiwan and then ten months later it’s on stage in Dublin? I mean, that’s in itself an amazing journey,” Martin said.
Martin started writing songs at a young age: “The first one arrived when I was about 11,” he said.
Martin is always writing, even while on the road. Every morning, he sits down to write freeform – whatever he’s thinking about. “I do that as a way of staying sane!” he laughed. “For 12 minutes in the mornings, I write anything that’s in my head, and it’s often very terrible and very depressed or very anxious, or all of the stuff that you don’t really want anyone else to hear, but you need to release. So, I do that for 12 minutes, and then I burn it.”
“You literally light it on fire?” asked Mason.
“Yeah, or tear it up and flush it away. And it just kind of gets rid of so much nonsense,” Martin said. “Definitely helps in a band, too. Because in the old days we would have a lot more tension and a lot more volatility. But that’s calmed down a lot.”
Buckland was asked about the incredible sense of community at their concerts. “I think this is the point where we are most happy,” he said. “I think we got to that point by being in a band for 25 years and then finally it sort of all clicking into place.”
“Is that just a process of time?” asked Mason.
“Well, I think a process of time and hard work,” said Martin. “We’ve worked quite hard on how we communicate with each other and giving each other space. We tour a lot slower now. We only do about 65 shows a year, which isn’t that many.”
Coldplay’s new record, “Moon Music,” is the band’s tenth studio album.
Martin has said the band would release its last album in 2025. “It was right and it was wrong, like most things I say,” Martin explained. “We are only going to do 12 proper Coldplay albums, but we’re a little bit behind. Not too far behind!”
Buckland explained, “We’re asking for an extension!”
So, why 12 albums? “That’s just what it’s supposed to be,” Martin replied. “I don’t think anyone needs more than that from us. The Beatles did 12.”
Mason asked, “Do you guys have other things you want to do? Is that part of this?”
“Not at all. We’d like to keep playing live,” said Martin.
“So, that goes on?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah – that gets better and better,” Martin said.
“Don’t wanna stop Coldplay,” said Buckland.
You can’t stop Coldplay. Chris Martin says he has to keep sprinting across stadiums.
Why does he have to? “I think it’s like asking an apple tree why does it make apples?” Martin replied. “That’s ’cause that’s what I was made to do. And also, I’m really happy doing it.”
Coldplay performs “feelslikeimfallinginlove” at Glastonbury 2024:
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Story produced by Jon Carras. Editor: Mike Levine.
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On Tuesday, former President Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old. Among those wishing him well is a man who understands the trials of life in the Oval Office, our current President, Joe Biden:
Mr. President, on behalf of the entire Biden family, and the American people, Happy 100th Birthday!
Mr. President, you’ve always been a moral force for our nation and the world. I recognized that as a young senator. That’s why I supported you so early. You’re a voice of courage, conviction, compassion, and most of all, a beloved friend of Jill and me and our family.
We know this is the first birthday without Rosalynn. It’s bittersweet, but we also know she’s always with you. She’s in your heart; she’ll never go away. She may be gone, but she’s always going to be with you. She’s always there, and I know you know that.
Your hopeful vision of our country, your commitment to a better world, and your unwavering belief in the power of human goodness continues to be a guiding light for all of us.
You know, you’re one of the most influential statesmen in our history. Even after you left office, the moral clarity you showed throughout your career showed through again in your commitment through the Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity – resolving conflicts, advancing democracy, preventing disease, and so much more. It’s transforming the lives of people not only at home but around the world.
Put simply, Mr. President, I admire you so darn much.
Jill and I send to you and your incredible family our love. May God continue to bless you, Mr. President. You’ve been a good friend.
Gallery: President Jimmy Carter
Gallery: Carter before the White House
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Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Steven Tyler.
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