A New York appeals court has allowed former US President Donald Trump to post lower bail than originally set in a civil fraud case. The former president will now have to pay bail 175 million dollars within 10 days (instead of 464 million), while the appeal is being defined.
This is a major lifeline for Trump who, along with some of his children and his company, was fined after the judge found that they fraudulently inflated the value of their assets.
For weeks Donald Trump has tried to avoid paying this money and, as the Republican presidential candidate’s lawyers indicated last week, Trump had failed to raise enough bail.
Additionally, Trump has asked the appeals court to put the ruling on hold while he continues to challenge it, but that court has not yet ruled.
This Monday, once again, Trump once again emphasized that this is a witch hunt by the Democrats. “I have done nothing wrong and New York should never be in a position like this again. Businesses are fleeing (the city), violent crime is thriving and it is very important that this problem is resolved in its entirety as soon as possible.” , he said. the print.
Failure AvoidFor now, New York Attorney General Letitia James will try seize the former president’s property to carry out the sentence against him, which would have had a high symbolic value.
The Stormy Daniels trial
After all, Donald Trump’s lawyers asked for it the postponement of the criminal trial that the former president is being persecuted in New York state for secretly paying money to the porn actress Stormy Danielsrevealing that new federal documents had surfaced.
Judge Juan Merchn rejected the request, launching the first criminal trial against a former president beginning April 15thwith the choice of the jury.
“You are accusing the Manhattan (DA) office and the people assigned to this case of judicial misconduct and trying to make me complicit,” a visibly exasperated Merchan told Trump’s lawyers during the hearing.
Trump is accused falsify your company’s accounting books For cover the payment made to actress Stormy Daniels as legal feeswhose real name is Stephanie Clifford, to silence their sexual encounter which took place in 2006 and which the 77-year-old Republican has always denied.
«I don’t know how it’s possible to hold a trial in the middle of the election campaign. It’s not fair. It’s not fair,» reacted the former president, who will have to challenge Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States in November. .