Letitia James shreds Trump’s 'practical impossibility' claim

Attorney General Letitia James is pushing back against Donald Trump’s claim it is a “practical impossibility” to obtain a $464 million bond, which he needs to halt the State of New York from moving forward with efforts to collect the judgment after he was found liable for civil business fraud.

Dennis Fan, Senior Assistant Solicitor General in James’ Office of the Attorney General says not only is Trump’s claim questionable, but the manner in which it was made, along with new claims made, were “improper,” as Just Security’s Adam Klasfeld reports. Further, he alleges, two of the people Trump’s attorneys relied on to support his claim are “unreliable,” because of their personal, professional, or financial interests. Klasfeld adds that the NY Attorney General’s Office is urging the court “to disregard Trump’s claim that posting a full bond is a ‘practical impossibility.'”

Fan also says there’s no reason Trump has to obtain one bond for the full $464 million, suggesting he could obtain several to total that amount.

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In his proposed court filing, Fan writes, “the Court should not consider defendants’ new allegations and arguments—which contend that a full bond or deposit is a ‘practical impossibility’ … because they are procedurally improper.”

Fan adds, “defendants’ reply affirmations are unreliable. The affirmation from Gary Giulietti does not disclose that he was an expert witness for defendants at trial or that Supreme Court found Mr. Giulietti’s trial testimony to lack credibility.”

“As the court explained, Mr. Giulietti ‘has an ongoing personal and professional relationship with Donald Trump.’ … Moreover, Mr. Giulietti has a ‘personal financial interest in the outcome of the case,’ because his company earns commission from the Trump Organization, including $1.2 million in 2022.”

“The court further found that Mr. Giulietti’s testimony was inconsistent with the testimony of other witnesses, including another defense expert,” Fan added.

Fan’s critique of Trump’s attorneys’ claims continued.

“The affirmation from Alan Garten is also unreliable. As Supreme Court found, he was personally involved in the fraudulent and illegal conduct that gave rise to the judgment in this case—including falsifying the reported size of Mr. Trump’s triplex apartment and helping defendants prepare Mr. Trump’s false and misleading 2020 and 2021 Statements of Financial Condition. … And as the Trump Organization’s general counsel, Mr. Garten has professional interests in this litigation.”

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“Defendants’ argument that obtaining a full bond is purportedly impossible is based on the false premise that they must obtain a single bond from a single surety for the entire judgment amount of $464 million.”

Fan also destroys Trump’s attorneys’ claim that companies that provide bonds would not accept real estate as collateral. He suggests that perhaps Trump’s “holdings are not nearly as valuable as defendants claim.”

The Daily Beast’s Jose Pagliery offered a colorful interpretation of the event:

“This morning, the New York AG called bullshit on Donald Trump’s excuses for not finding a surety willing to put up a half billion dollar bond in the bank fraud case. Basically: Your buildings can’t be used as collateral? Oh gee, wonder why not!”