Trump’s Bond Insurer Tells Judge Shortfall Is ‘Inconceivable’

Donald Trump submitted evidence that the insurer providing his $175 million appeal bond in New York’s civil fraud case is financially capable of paying up if his legal challenge fails, after the state attorney general demanded more proof.

Los Angeles-based Knight Specialty Insurance Co. can handle the bond because it’s backed by $175.3 million in cash in a Charles Schwab account pledged to the insurer, Trump and the company said in a joint filing Monday night in New York state court. Knight is run by one of Trump’s billionaire supporters, Don Hankey.

Knight also has more than $539 million in assets and $138 million in equity, plus access to billions more through its parent company, according to the filing.

Read More: Trump Got His $175 Million Bond From Billionaire Fan’s Firm

Trump, the presumed Republican nominee for the November presidential election, arranged the bond April 1 to put a $454 million judgment against him in the civil fraud case on hold while he appeals it. New York Attorney General Letitia James then demanded that Hankey’s firm prove it can pay the fine if Trump’s appeal fails, saying extra evidence was needed because Knight isn’t registered with New York’s Department of Financial Services.

A financial shortfall on the bond is “inconceivable,” according to the filing, which urged the judge handling the case to approve Knight’s role in providing the bond.

The dispute over Trump’s bond emerged as the former president’s first criminal trial is underway in Manhattan, where the district attorney charged him with falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal before the 2016 election. Trump denies wrongdoing in both cases.

Topics Carriers New York Legislation