this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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Donald Trump was supposed to have to post a $464 million bond by Monday or else the state of New York could begin collecting on the massive civil fraud judgment leveled against him earlier this year. An appeals court bailed him out, blocking collection of the judgment and giving the former president 10 days to post a drastically reduced $175 million bond.

The order is a huge win for Trump, whose assets were going to be subject to seizure if he couldn’t post nearly half-a-billion dollars by Monday. His lawyers said last week he wasn’t going to be able to come up with the money after 30 underwriters rejected him. The New York Times has reported that Trump is expected to be able to scrounge the new, reduced $175 million bond

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[–] [email protected] 326 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (38 children)

That's bullshit. Just more laws that don't apply to this traitor.

Trump undervalued his properties to the IRS and overvalued them to investors. And now the courts are allowing him to undervalue them so he doesn't have to face the consequences of his fraud.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago

We really need a law that says when you tell the IRS what your property is worth they are allowed to buy it at that price; if they later find out you represented it at a higher value to others.

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[–] [email protected] 265 points 7 months ago (8 children)

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME

[–] [email protected] 189 points 7 months ago (6 children)

The legal system is doing EVERYTHING it can to delay literally everything for this man, just so that election time will creep closer and closer and they can just say, "oh it's too close to election time and we can't just cancel a Presidential candidate in the midst of all this".

These exceptions will never be given to any normal citizen of the US, but when it's this rich orange idiot, every rule in existence will bend.

[–] [email protected] 78 points 7 months ago (2 children)

May Trump and his VP pick both have fatal heart attacks late September/early October

[–] [email protected] 46 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Tomorrow would also work. Or today.

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[–] [email protected] 65 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It’s pretty funny seeing his supporters and himself claim that the whole system is against him and that this is all some unfair witch hunt, and then turn around and see that he is constantly getting special treatment in the news.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago

Yep, trump is not the only person on trial here. You can't set a precedent that actually punishes financial fraud to the point where you can't actually profit from it when you're eventually caught.

Trump isn't the only real estate tycoon in NYC who has been fraudulently inflating the value of their assets. It would be uncomfortable for the judges to have to make a similar decision in the future to campaign donors.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I actually thought something like this was going to happen, since it has happened before, per another comment I read earlier.

Some corporations were told to post billions in appeals bonds, and in the end they were reduced to a fraction of it.

So, while disappointing, I wasn't completely surprised of this event.

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[–] mynamesnotrick 25 points 7 months ago

FUCKING SHIT. I SWEAR TO FUCK. CANT HE BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FUCKING EVER!?!? JUST THE CLASSIFIED FUCKING DOCUMENTS SITUATION SHOULD OF HAD HIS ASS IN JAIL LIKE DISCORD BRO. FUCK.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You had to have seen it coming.

What was going to happen, he fails to post bond like any other schmuck and goes to jail?

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[–] [email protected] 131 points 7 months ago (4 children)

This sucks, but a few points are at least worth mentioning:

  1. Of the five judges listed on the order, annoyingly slim as it is, three are Democrats and two are "nonpartisan" but with resumes in the public sector and public interest law.

  2. Most states actually have a cap on appeal bonds, often around $50 million or less. NY doesn't have one, but all the same thinking, for good or for ill, that would lead to a statutory limit might influence the appeals court here. Among them is precluding additional litigation from forcing a fire sale.

  3. In an appeal like this, the court has to at least conceptually imagine that there's some possibility of success, and that with a defendant who is leveraged AF and not nearly as liquid as he boasts, there is only one bite at the apple when seizing and selling the assets to satisfy the judgment. If the court is convinced that this amount, well into nine figures, will occupy the vast majority of his liquid assets and insure some plausible compensation for the plaintiff, and the other assets aren't going anywhere, then it's not insane to demand a bond more in line with the available liquidity.

Trump is definitely getting the "rich business owner with lots of lawyers" treatment here, and that's certainly something you could criticize about the American legal system, but I don't think we're seeing some completely inexplicable abuse of existing civil procedure. The orange turd still gets the due process that a President Turd would deny to so many others.

TL;DR: it's possible the only thing the Appeals Court is saying is that ol' Donny really can't get the bigger bond and that Trump Tower will still be there to seize later.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 7 months ago

I heartily disagree on these limits being to prevent a fire sale. They're to protect the wealthy from a fire sale. You or I would be forced into a fire sale in a heartbeat for a million dollar judgement. And then into debtor's prison when we turn out to be normal people who don't have a million dollars of assets lying around.

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[–] [email protected] 129 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh, okay, cool, so the justice system cares if you say it's unfair and you can't afford the judgment now? Because I'm pretty sure that's news to most people.

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[–] [email protected] 116 points 7 months ago (5 children)

If they started auctioning off and selling his properties to make money, it would turn over a lot of really dark stones full of other people's criminal activities.

He's being protected by the club he's in, not because they like him but because they would be in trouble if they didn't.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

That's the basis of the system, mutually assurred corruption.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 7 months ago

That's why Epstein Epsteined himself

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[–] [email protected] 107 points 7 months ago (5 children)

And there goes every last shred of hope I had for America.

The country is fucking doomed, and it'll drag the rest of the world into chaos with it. We're all fucked.

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[–] [email protected] 91 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Banks, mega corporations, (fake) rich people get bailed out — Republicans: Nothing.

Working-class doing public service get minor bailout with student loan forgiveness — Republicans: WHOA, NOW....

[–] [email protected] 85 points 7 months ago (16 children)

Do these judges have to explain their decision? Is there an opinion published somewhere? I'd love to understand what context brought them to this conclusion, I've never heard of someone gaining leniency because they couldn't afford the fine.

There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time"...

[–] [email protected] 58 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The published order is just that. It doesn't explain the why or whatever just "We are reducing the bond amount and not removing the other limitations of the ruling"

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (2 children)

“…because Project 2025”

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[–] [email protected] 71 points 7 months ago

Sigh. Evergreen:

[–] [email protected] 70 points 7 months ago (4 children)

I have lost all faith in our justice system.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago

“Justice system” is a misnomer. “Legal system” is more apt.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Damn. I was really hoping this would be a ray of light for the next year and a reduction in the level of election insanity we're going to see.

Instead, just more fuel for the flames.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 7 months ago

Rules for thee but not me me!!

[–] [email protected] 41 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Violence would solve this problem.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It would, but it would also create lots of new problems. I would regain some hope for humanity, though, if the people finally woke up to the reality of their 350,000,000:1 ratio against their oppressors…

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 7 months ago

He should have been forced to sell all of his properties prior to his presidency.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

People say he's being treated different, and he is. Special treatment in his favour.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago

Un fucking believable.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (1 children)

How funny would it be if he can't raise the $175 million either.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (4 children)

He's already recently stated he has the full half billion in cash on hand, just refuses to pay in cash, and bonds companies won't touch him.

They didn't give him a break because he can't pay, they gave him a break because he refuses to.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

He's also a well known liar. There's no reason to believe he has the full amount in cash

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 months ago (7 children)

Does anyone else have a feeling he won’t be able to come up with this amount either?

[–] [email protected] 32 points 7 months ago

It's a lot easier to get a few $50M bonds than to get five $100M bonds (I read some post that said these big bond places have firm limits at $100M). It also gives him 10 more days to tout how he is about to make $3B on his Truth Social sale (to a shell company who overinflated the price) and will totally be good for the bond. I think he can do it just to avoid them digging into his finances.

It's complete bullshit. Normal people are not given this kind of leniency.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago

Dianne T. Renwick, Anil C. Singh, Lizbeth González, Bahaati E. Pitt-Burke, and Kelly O’Neill Levy

What was their actual individual motivation?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago

So we can all just do whatever we want without consequences right? Or is it still just rich fascists the rules don’t apply to?

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