A New York appeals court on MondayĀ reducedĀ the $454 million that former President Donald Trump was required to put up while he appeals his civil fraud case. Now Trump must put up, by April 4, a mere $175 million. The trouble is, he may not get a bond for that amount, either. Should that happen, this act of judicial mercy will end up feeling to Trump like a curse.
The stay deprives Trump of the only argument on which he was gaining any traction at allāthat the amount the court required him to put up was excessively high. Four hundred and fifty-four million was indeed an unusually large judgment against a private corporation or individual. (The distinction between Trump andĀ the Trump OrganizationĀ is paper-thin.) Mondayās appeals court decision doesnāt reduce that judgment, as New York State Attorney General Letitia James pointed out in a written statement. But it does dramatically reduce the amount Trump needs to turn over to the state while he pursues his appeal. It also gives us some hint that the appeals court may reduceĀ Judge Arthur Engoronās $454 million judgmentĀ to, well, $175 million.
True, the whole āvictimless crimeā stick is nonsense. Because if all the real estate world is lied together like this, the general population pays waaayyyy to much for their real estate and rent in addition to missing out on so much tax revenue.
Itās fraud. When money changed hands under false pretenses, harmās been done. Somebodyās missing money thatās rightfully theirs.
I donāt know anything about this case. Didnāt know there was real estate stuff involved I thought this was the secret documents thing.
But thatās straightforward. Taking money that isnāt rightfully yours is not a victimless crime, in the way that owning pot is a victimless crime.
Agreed. This was the civil fraud trial, where trump and co where found liable of: fraudulently adjusting the evaluation of their holdings based on the audience. So for the IRS the valuation was low and for lenders it was high.
But in the case where banks are the victims I have trouble feeling for them.