NY Civil Lawsuit & Criminal Trial Against Donald Trump & Family

[Albany Rifles]

Judge sets Trump’s hush money trial for April 15, rejecting further delay

Dumb bastid!

[TopHatter]

Judge in hush money case expands Trump's limited gag order

The judge in Donald Trump's criminal hush money case has expanded his limited gag order on the former president to cover the family members of the judge and the district attorney, following a request by prosecutors.

The limited gag order now covers the family members of District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan, after Trump targeted Merchan's daughter repeatedly on social media over her work with a group involved in Democratic politics.

Last week, Judge Merchan issued a limited gag order prohibiting Trump from making comments about potential witnesses in the case, as well as jurors, lawyers, court staff, and their families. The order permitted Trump to continue making public comments about both Merchan and Bragg.

On Monday, prosecutors asked Merchan to clarify whether the limited gag order he issued last week applies to the judge's family and relatives of Bragg.

In his ruling late Monday, Merchan wrote that "The Defendant has a constitutional right to speak to the American voters freely, and to defend himself publicly." However, the judge pointed to the "singular power" Trump's words have on countless others and the "grave concern" prosecutors said witnesses have expressed about participating in the trial, set to begin April 15.

"The threats to the integrity of the judicial proceeding are no longer limited to the swaying of minds but on the willingness of individuals both private and public to perform their lawful duty before this Court," Merchan said. "It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings. The threat is real."

In a statement issued in response to the ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, "Judge Merchan's unconstitutional Gag Order prevents President Trump -- the leading candidate for President of the United States -- from engaging in core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment."


In this Nov. 15, 2022, file photo, former President Donald Trump leaves the stage after speaking during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Merchan's ruling followed a letter to the court on Friday in which the district attorney's office said Trump's attacks on the judge's daughter are making other witnesses gravely concerned about their safety.

"Defendant's dangerous, violent, and reprehensible rhetoric fundamentally threatens the integrity of these proceedings and is intended to intimidate witnesses and trial participants alike -- including this Court," prosecutors wrote in the new filing Monday. They're seeking a clarifying order from the judge and a directive that Trump "immediately desist from attacks on family members."

Defense attorneys argued Monday he should be allowed to continue to address those issues.

"President Trump must be permitted to speak on these issues in a manner that is consistent with his position as the leading presidential candidate and his defense, which is not intended to materially interfere with these proceedings or cause harm to anyone," the defense said in their response to the district attorney's filing.

The defense also sought permission to file a motion requesting Merchan recuse himself from the trial.

"Your Honor's daughter is an executive and partner at Authentic Campaigns, Inc. As recently as February and March 2024, Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris while deriding President Trump," defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles wrote.

"The trial in this case will benefit Authentic financially by providing its clients more fodder for fundraising, Authentic will make more money by assisting with those communications, and Your Honor's daughter will continue to earn money from these developments by virtue of her senior role at Authentic."

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to get underway April 15 in New York City.
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Past gag orders have been for civil trials. This one is criminal. It'll be interesting to see if Trump presses his luck and de facto Executive Privilege....and if Judge Merchan actually has the stones to treat Trump like just another American citizen.

[TopHatter]

Trump secures $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case



Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants have secured a $175 million bond in their New York civil fraud case, according to a court filing.

Trump secured the bond through Knight Specialty Insurance Company.

"As promised, President Trump has posted bond," his attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Monday evening. "He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict."

An official with the New York attorney general's office declined to comment to ABC News.

Last week, a panel of judges from New York's Appellate Division granted the former president, his adult sons, and two former Trump Organization executives a 10-day stay of the $464 million judgment in their civil fraud case and permitted them to post a reduced bond of $175 million.

Trump's lawyers had argued that the former president lacked the cash to secure a bond for the full judgment after being rejected by more than 30 bond companies.

Without intervention from an appeals court, defense lawyers argued that Trump would suffer irreparable harm by having to sell off his namesake properties before he exhausted his appeal of the fraud ruling.


Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Rome, Ga., March 9, 2024.

In February, following a three-month trial, Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump and his co-defendants after finding they had engaged in a decade of business fraud by falsely inflating the former president's net worth to get better loans and business deals.

"The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience," Engoron wrote.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his lawyers have appealed the ruling in the case, arguing that the disgorgement amount was unconstitutional, disproportionate, and flawed. Defense lawyers argue that Judge Engoron misapplied the statute of limitations for Trump's conduct and that New York Attorney General Letitia James failed to prove Trump's misrepresentations were relevant to the former president's lenders.

"There is no evidence, and no finding by Supreme Court, that the relevant lenders and insurers would not have given Defendants loans and policies on the same terms in the absence of the supposed 'misrepresentations,'" defense lawyers said in a March filing.

If their appeal fails, the former president and his co-defendants will be on the hook for the entire $464 million judgment.

If Trump does not have the cash to cover the full judgment and his appeal is unsuccessful, James could enforce the judgment by seizing Trump's assets.

"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," James said in a recent interview with ABC News. "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers."

In the defamation suit brought against Trump by the writer E. Jean Carroll, Trump secured a $92 million bond through insurance company Chubb after a jury in January found him liable for defaming her. Trump, who has denied all wrongdoing, has filed a notice of appeal in that case.

The former president used a brokerage account as collateral for that bond.
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The filing didn’t specify which assets Trump used as collateral for the bond.

[Albany Rifles]

Trump secures $175 million bond in New York civil fraud case



Former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants have secured a $175 million bond in their New York civil fraud case, according to a court filing.

Trump secured the bond through Knight Specialty Insurance Company.

"As promised, President Trump has posted bond," his attorney Alina Habba said in a statement Monday evening. "He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict."

An official with the New York attorney general's office declined to comment to ABC News.

Last week, a panel of judges from New York's Appellate Division granted the former president, his adult sons, and two former Trump Organization executives a 10-day stay of the $464 million judgment in their civil fraud case and permitted them to post a reduced bond of $175 million.

Trump's lawyers had argued that the former president lacked the cash to secure a bond for the full judgment after being rejected by more than 30 bond companies.

Without intervention from an appeals court, defense lawyers argued that Trump would suffer irreparable harm by having to sell off his namesake properties before he exhausted his appeal of the fraud ruling.


Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Rome, Ga., March 9, 2024.

In February, following a three-month trial, Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump and his co-defendants after finding they had engaged in a decade of business fraud by falsely inflating the former president's net worth to get better loans and business deals.

"The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience," Engoron wrote.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and his lawyers have appealed the ruling in the case, arguing that the disgorgement amount was unconstitutional, disproportionate, and flawed. Defense lawyers argue that Judge Engoron misapplied the statute of limitations for Trump's conduct and that New York Attorney General Letitia James failed to prove Trump's misrepresentations were relevant to the former president's lenders.

"There is no evidence, and no finding by Supreme Court, that the relevant lenders and insurers would not have given Defendants loans and policies on the same terms in the absence of the supposed 'misrepresentations,'" defense lawyers said in a March filing.

If their appeal fails, the former president and his co-defendants will be on the hook for the entire $464 million judgment.

If Trump does not have the cash to cover the full judgment and his appeal is unsuccessful, James could enforce the judgment by seizing Trump's assets.

"If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets," James said in a recent interview with ABC News. "We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers."

In the defamation suit brought against Trump by the writer E. Jean Carroll, Trump secured a $92 million bond through insurance company Chubb after a jury in January found him liable for defaming her. Trump, who has denied all wrongdoing, has filed a notice of appeal in that case.

The former president used a brokerage account as collateral for that bond.
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The filing didn’t specify which assets Trump used as collateral for the bond.

I know he can't dump is Truth stoc for 6 months but I wonder if he used some shares as collateral for a loan...which he will default on as well?

[tbm3fan]

The filing didn’t specify which assets Trump used as collateral for the bond.

You would think the Judge would know better by now. You think everyone would know better by now like we do. If he loses the appeal then what are the odds that the rest of the $464 million will be seen?

I know, tough question looking into the future for a company valued in the billions, but making revenue in the single digit millions, and already down $3 billion after opening week.

[TopHatter]

NY state is demanding more information on Trump's $175 million appeal bond in civil fraud case


Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump takes the stage before speaking Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at a rally in Green Bay, Wis.

NEW YORK (AP) — Days after former President Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond to block New York state from imminently collecting on a huge civil fraud judgment, state lawyers Thursday called for more information on the bond’s bona fides.

State Attorney General Letitia James' office filed papers giving Trump's lawyers or the bond underwriter 10 days to “justify” the bond — essentially, to show that the company can make good on it. That could mean disclosing more about the collateral Trump provided.

A hearing was set for April 22.

One of Trump's lawyers, Christopher Kise, said James was trying to provoke a “baseless public quarrel in a desperate effort to regain relevance” after an appeals court last month significantly cut the amount of the bond needed to hold off collection.

“Yet another witch hunt!” Kise wrote in an email.

A message seeking comment was left for the underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance Co.

The bond, posted Monday, at least temporarily stopped the state from potentially seizing Trump's assets to satisfy the more than $454 million that he owes after losing a lawsuit trial. The case, brought by the Democratic attorney general, alleged that Trump, along with his company and key executives, defrauded bankers and insurers by lying about his wealth.

The ex-president and presumptive Republican nominee denies the claims and is appealing the judgment.

By posting the bond, Trump aimed to stop the clock on enforcement of the judgment during his appeal. But it hasn't gone entirely smoothly.

First, the court system kicked back Monday's filing for more paperwork, including a financial statement from Knight Specialty Insurance. That was filed Thursday, showing that the company has over $539 million in assets and related reinsurer Knight Insurance Co. Ltd. has over $2.1 billion.

Then James' office filed notice that it “takes exception to the sufficiency” of the bond — a move that judgment winners can make to get more information from out-of-state underwriters, in some circumstances.

Knight Specialty Insurance is a Wilmington, Delaware-based part of the Los Angeles-based Knight Insurance Group.

The attorney general's notice doesn't request specific information. But “justifying” generally means demonstrating that the underwriter is financially sound and able to pay the bond amount if the judgment is upheld.

A state appeals court also has held, in an unrelated case, that there needed to be a showing that a bond was “sufficiently collateralized by identifiable assets.”

Knight Insurance Group Chairman Don Hankey told The Associated Press Monday that cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump’s appellate bond.

Eric Trump, a son of the former president and a top executive in his company, said in a social media post Thursday that the bond was backed entirely by cash.

The attorney general's objection “is just another example of the absurdity and foolishness that have been the underlying theme throughout this circus of a case,” the younger Trump wrote on X, former Twitter.

He and his brother, a fellow Trump Organization executive vice president, Donald Trump Jr. were also defendants in the fraud suit. They were found liable and ordered to pay $4 million apiece.

All told, the judgment against Trump, the sons and other defendants totals more than $467 million, growing daily with interest.

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Smart move when dealing with Trump. Demand proof of everything up front and in writing.

[TopHatter]

N.Y. AG skeptical of Donald Trump's bond posting that one legal expert calls 'financial chicanery'

Former President Donald Trump speaks from the hallway outside a courtroom where he attended a hearing in his criminal case on charges stemming from hush money paid to an adult film actress in New York City on March 25. Pool Photo by Spencer Platt/UPI

April 5 (UPI) -- New York Attorney General Letitia James has called Donald Trump's $175 million bond posting into question, despite a corrected submission. A former assistant in the attorney general's office tells UPI the posting is deficient for a number of reasons.

James' office filed a notice of exception on Thursday after Trump's attorneys resubmitted a corrected bond. The notice challenges whether underwriter Knight Specialty Insurance is legitimately qualified to assure the bond in the civil fraud judgment against Trump.

New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has scheduled a hearing on the bond issue for April 22.

The filing notes that Knight Specialty Insurance is not a licensed insurer in the state of New York, not meeting a key requirement to post a bond in the state.

This is not the only issue with the bond, according to Adam Pollock, managing partner of the New York law firm Pollock Cohen LLP. Pollock is a former U.S. assistant attorney general, serving in that role until 2017.

"This bond is further financial chicanery in a trial about financial chicanery," Pollock said. "This judge is going to have little patience for a flawed bond."

Pollock told UPI that it is encoded twice in New York law that a bond must be written by a New York licensed insurer. This license is granted by the New York Department of Financial Services.

The financial statement, which was missing in the original bond filing, must also demonstrate that the insurer has at least 10 times the bond amount in surplus capital. In this case, that threshold is $1.75 billion.

Knight Specialty Insurance's statement shows $138 million in surplus capital. That is less than the $175 million bond, let alone far less than the amount required by New York law.

"The state doesn't want one insurance company writing for more insurance than it can guarantee," Pollock told UPI.

Knight Specialty Insurance also enclosed a consolidated statement of all of the related companies, stating they combine for a surplus of about $1 billion.

The insurance company is part of a conglomerate called Hankey Group. Billionaire Don Hankey is chairman and CEO of the group.

Typically when a judgment is handed down, the defendant is expected to pay that judgment in full, Pollock explained. James allowed Trump a 30-day grace period to secure the funds to pay the $464 million judgment, but she was not required to do so.

Trump did not have to post a bond to appeal the judgment. However he did have to post a bond to be granted a stay of enforcement.

Trump and his attorneys have been critical of the size of the judgment and of James' assertion that he can work with multiple insurers to secure it in full. They noted that the interest Trump will incur is not recoverable even if he wins on appeal.

Pollock says that, while this is true, some hardship is to be expected after losing a case.

Trump appealed the judgment, arguing that it is excessive. That appeal is not expected to be decided on until the fall, Pollock said.

"This is a big appeal. There was a two month trial so there are a lot of transcripts and factual material to wade through," Pollock said. "I won't be surprised if it takes longer than it typically does. If you look at the court calendar, Trump has to file the actual appeal by July 8. It will be argued in early September. If it's standard they will have a result by the end of October."

If Trump's appeal is ultimately lost, enforcement of the judgment will immediately come back into effect, again putting his assets and properties at risk of being seized.

"I don't expect any further grace to be forthcoming," Pollock adds.
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[Albany Rifles]

The filing notes that Knight Specialty Insurance is not a licensed insurer in the state of New York, not meeting a key requirement to post a bond in the state.


Pollock told UPI that it is encoded twice in New York law that a bond must be written by a New York licensed insurer. This license is granted by the New York Department of Financial Services.

Okay, I'm just a hick living in the wilds of Southside Virginia but something doesn't quite seem to past muster.

[TopHatter]

The filing notes that Knight Specialty Insurance is not a licensed insurer in the state of New York, not meeting a key requirement to post a bond in the state.


Pollock told UPI that it is encoded twice in New York law that a bond must be written by a New York licensed insurer. This license is granted by the New York Department of Financial Services.

Okay, I'm just a hick living in the wilds of Southside Virginia but something doesn't quite seem to past muster.

Just yet another Trump scam. And Knight Specialty claims they could've covered the full half billion.

God help Trump and his lawyers if it can be proven what they knew and when they knew about it. Doubtful that'll happen though.

[tbm3fan]

Now TH I looked and looked about another trial coming up, the Hush money trial as they call it. Seems his appeal to delay was just denied by an appeal Judge and the trial will now start this Monday, the 15th. How appropriate, Tax Day. The full appeal panel will hear on Monday at the same time as the trial starts but the chance to stop it then seems remote.

[TopHatter]

Now TH I looked and looked about another trial coming up, the Hush money trial as they call it. Seems his appeal to delay was just denied by an appeal Judge and the trial will now start this Monday, the 15th. How appropriate, Tax Day. The full appeal panel will hear on Monday at the same time as the trial starts but the chance to stop it then seems remote.

Heh yep, and unlike his civil trials, Trump has to sit there, all day, every day, starting on Day One.

Hopefully his legal team brought him some crayons or something to keep him occupied, or at least somewhat distracted.

They can also consult these handy articles:

Tips to Help Children with ADHD Who Are Easily Distracted

Helping Children with ADHD Focus Without Medication

ADHD Meltdowns: 9 Tips to Deal with Tantrums

[TopHatter]

Allen Weisselberg, ex-Trump Organization CFO, sentenced to 5 months in prison for perjury


(The Hill) – The former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization on Wednesday was sentenced to five months in prison for perjury stemming from former President Trump’s civil fraud case.

The charges stemmed from a 2020 deposition with the New York attorney general’s office as it built its sprawling civil fraud case against the Trump Organization, but as part of the deal, he also admitted to lying during his trial testimony and another deposition last year.

In his July 17, 2020, deposition with the attorney general’s office, state lawyers questioned Weisselberg over the size of Trump’s Manhattan triplex apartment in Trump Tower. The property was listed on the former president’s financial statements as 30,000 square feet in size but is actually less than 11,000 square feet.

Weisselberg told state lawyers he “didn’t find out about the error” in the triplex’s listed size until Forbes reported it and that he was never present when Trump described the size of the property. He has now admitted that both remarks were untrue.

The inquiry into Weisselberg’s perjury was spurred by his October testimony in the civil fraud trial, in which he was also a defendant. Without pleading guilty to a specific charge, he admitted as part of his plea deal that he falsely testified he “never focused” on the triplex throughout the course of his work for the Trump Organization.

Prosecutors with the district attorney’s office said in charging documents that the Trump Tower triplex’s size was “material” to the attorney general’s investigation.

The civil fraud trial ended earlier this year with a New York judge ruling that Trump and top executives, including Weisselberg, conspired to alter the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits.

Weisselberg was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million, plus interest, and barred for three years from serving in top leadership positions in any New York corporation or business entity. He was also barred for life from serving “in the financial control function” of any New York business.

Trump was ordered to pay $454 million, plus interest, and faced similar business-related penalties. All penalties are paused for the time being, while the defendants appeal, after they posted a $175 million bond in the case.

Weisselberg’s 5-month sentence marks his second stint in prison, after the former CFO pleaded guilty in 2022 to evading nearly $2 million in taxes over a decade through backchannel compensation from the Trump Organization. He was sentenced to five months at the Rikers Island jail for the tax evasion and served nearly 100 days there.

The longtime Trump ally’s plea deal does not require him to testify in Trump’s hush money trial, which is scheduled to begin Monday. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records and has pleaded not guilty.
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Aaaaand back in the pokey he goes. These "process crimes" can be a real bitch...

[TopHatter]

Letitia James is not done with Donald Trump. Now she wants to know if he withheld evidence in her fraud case.

• Letitia James won a $454 million judgment against Trump, his penalty for a decade of fraud.
• She and Trump are now fighting over her claims that he withheld evidence from her fraud probe.
• NY law lets James seek additional fines if evidence that she subpoenaed was lost or destroyed.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is not content to rest on her $454 million civil fraud trial victory, even as Trump's debt to the state keeps snowballing, growing by a punishing $5 million in interest since February.

No, James still has some unfinished Trump business on her calendar.

She is asking hard questions about the $175 million bond that would safeguard at least some of what Trump owes New York while he appeals losing the trial. A hearing on the bond's financial soundness is set for Monday, April 22.

And James is also intent on holding Trump's feet to the fire, along with the feet of his lawyers, over something her office has complained about for four years: the withholding of evidence.

The integrity of the fraud trial may be at stake, she argued in a letter Tuesday night.

The AG is looking at three internal Trump Organization email chains from 2016 that were never turned over to her office during her five years of pursuing Trump for tricking banks into thinking he's worth more than he is.

James knows the emails exist.

Manhattan prosecutors used them as evidence in sending former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg to jail for perjury on Monday.

But the emails — in which Weisselberg and his Trump Org underlings responded to Forbes magazine questions about the value of Trump's Manhattan triplex penthouse — were not among the 900,000 documents Trump Org turned over to James' fraud probe.

"The Court is well within its authority to determine if Defendants and their counsel facilitated that perjury by withholding of incriminating documents," James argued in Tuesday night's letter.

Solving that mystery is "certainly within the power of this Court to safeguard the integrity of its own proceedings," she argued.

A forensic review
When James first found out about the missing triplex emails in October, she immediately asked the trial judge to order a forensic review of "electronic data held by the Trump Organization for the very brief period [of] August to September of 2016," when the emails were written.

"The failure to produce these later emails indicates a breakdown somewhere in the process of preserving, collecting, reviewing, and producing documents," her office complained in an October 18 letter to the judge, state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

The forensic review would be conducted by the court-imposed monitor — former federal judge Barbara Jones — whose staff at Bracewell LLP has been scrutinizing Trump's finances since November, 2022.


Former federal judge Barbara Jones.

Six months later, the proposed forensic review has not yet been approved by Engoron.

Instead, it's the subject of a heated new paperwork battle between Trump's lawyers, who oppose a review, and an attorney for James who has championed the withheld-documents cause since 2020.

"We have already raised multiple times the prospect that Defendants have withheld relevant and responsive information," that lawyer, Senior Enforcement Counsel Kevin Wallace, wrote Engoron last week.

His April 4 letter to the judge formally asks "that the Monitor be tasked with reviewing electronic files collected by Defendants," including those collected for production to Manhattan prosecutors.

The monitor's review would determine if the emails "were in the possession of the Trump Organization," and, if so, why they were never turned over.

One of Trump's lawyers, Clifford Robert, this week spent seven single-spaced pages arguing against expanding the monitor's role further.

"The NYAG's astonishing request is an evident play to transform the Monitor into her own special counsel," he wrote.

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

An already powerful monitor
Under Engoron's most recent expansion of the monitor's role, from March 21, Jones' powers are already sweeping.

Trump must give the retired judge and her staff five days notice of any cash or asset transfers totaling $5 million or more, and 30 days notice of the creation or dissolution of any of the 400-plus entities under the Trump Organization umbrella.

She must also review all company financial filings, including tax returns, before they're sent to third parties.

A history of missing documents
Trump's alleged withholding of evidence has been an issue since at least 2020, when James first complained publicly that Trump Organization was defying her subpoenas.

This 2020 filing was first time New York officials publicly complained about the withholding evidence

For at least two years, James has appeared to be steadily building a "spoliation" case against Trump and his company. That's the legal term for the loss or destruction of evidence that should have been preserved for a lawsuit.

As a senior lawyer for James, Wallace has repeatedly complained about missing evidence and signaled that his office may seek "relief," meaning potential sanctions.

At a hearing in April of 2022, he compared getting Trump's documents to "pulling teeth."

Out of some 900,000 documents turned over, only ten were "custodial" Trump documents, meaning business files in the former president's direct custody.

When Trump attorney Alina Habba insisted that Trump had no other personal custodial documents to turn over, Wallace told the judge, "I'll be frank. If that's all there is, it raises a bunch of other issues."

Sixteen months later, when Wallace wrote the judge that the AG was ready for trial, he made sure to add that James' office "reserves its right to seek relief after trial relating to the Defendant's spoliation of evidence."

Possible sanctions include more fines
Civil case law from New York allows a judge to set sanctions for spoliation that include a finding of contempt of court and any fines they see fit.

But there's a high bar of proof, said Marc Frazier Scholl, a former financial crimes prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

The AG's office would have to prove that Trump, Trump Org executives, and/or their defense attorneys had control over the documents being subpoenaed and destroyed or withheld them instead of turning them over.

"The first thing, if you're seeking spoliation sanctions, is to prove there was a known obligations to keep the evidence when it was lost or destroyed," said Scholl, who is now of counsel at Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss.

If the AG does end up seeking fines, they would likely be minimal and symbolic, he predicted.

James' lawyers have said that many of Trump's missing documents were ultimately successfully subpoenaed from outside witnesses who also had copies.

"They got the documents in other ways, which is why they know to ask for them specifically," in the case of the Weisselberg emails, he added.

Ultimately, the AG's office won the case, and won big — getting essentially everything they sued for, including the massive financial judgment.

"Would they really have gotten a larger judgment if they got more documents?" Scholl asked.

"I don't think so," he said. "I think this is a shot across the bow, potentially against the Trump counsel."
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Of course he withheld evidence. He can't help doing that any more than he can help lying as naturally as he breathes.

[TopHatter]

"Problematic": Trump's $175 million bond could be "very difficult" to collect due to Cayman ties



When former President Donald Trump couldn't find anyone to issue him a $464 million bond to appeal his civil fraud conviction, a New York appeals court granted him a lifeline, telling the Republican candidate to come back with a bond of just $175 million. A few days later, he did just.

Ever since, however, questions have been raised about the company that issued the bond — led by a billionaire Trump supporter who specializes in subprime auto loans — and whether New York Attorney General Letitia James will even be able to collect what's owed should Trump's conviction be upheld. For one, the company's balance sheet suggests it might not have enough surplus cash to make good on its promise.

On Friday, The Daily Beast reported on another reason for concern: that while the bond's issuer, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, is technically based in the United States, its parent company calls the Cayman Islands home. Former financial regulators say that's concerning.

The financial details are complicated, but the gist is this: the bond's issuer is itself insured by the similarly named but island-based parent company -- and since that island is a notorious tax shelter for the rich and powerful, that parent does not have to divulge key financial data, like whether it has enough cash on hand to cover a sudden $175 million bill.

“The Caymans are widely recognized as a ‘secrecy jurisdiction,’" Tom Grober, a forensic account, told The Daily Beast. "If you called the regulator in the Caymans and asked, ‘Can you tell me if Knight reinsurance has enough to cover these claims?’ Their laws require total confidentiality. Why?"

Dave Jones, a former California insurance commissioner, told the outlet that the $175 million bond was already "problematic" in the extreme. It's connection to a foreign jurisdiction just makes it worse.

“What the New York AG must be thinking is, ‘What recourse do I have in Cayman Island courts? If I get a judgment against the bond, even if I sue the reinsurer, can I enforce that judgment in a Cayman Island court? Maybe, maybe not,’" Jones said. "It raises a whole other level of complexity."

Jones has already raised some questions about the bond, suggesting she's far from convinced the issuer will be able to come up with the money, despite assurances from the owner that he collected a cash collateral. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for April 22.
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As with all things Trump, shady as shit and twice as untrustworthy

[TopHatter]

"House of cards": Judge imposes new terms to ensure Trump's $175 million bond will actually be paid



A New York judge has agreed to accept Donald Trump's $175 million bond in his civil fraud case after ensuring that the issuer of the bond will have enough cash on hand to pay up should the former president lose his appeal.

At a hearing Monday, Judge Arthur Engoron initially questioned the legitimacy of Trump's bond, which he secured with the help of a supporter after earlier failing to secure a larger $454 million bond. Trump needs the bond in order to appeal the civil fraud conviction secured by New York Attorney General Letitia James in February.

James had herself questioned the $175 million bond, noting that the issuer, Knight Specialty Insurance Co., is not certified in the state of New York. Others had noted that the bond agreement contained "incomprehensible" language that raised questions about who would ultimately be responsible for paying it, should it come to that.

"It all seems like a house of cards," Judge Engoron himself said Monday, according to Reuters. But he decided to accept the bond after imposing a new requirement that Trump's $175 million collateral, currently held in a Charles Schwab account, not be invested in securities while the appeal process is under way.

Monday's decision came just down the street from the Manhattan courtroom where Trump is standing trial on criminal charges related to an alleged scheme to cover up hush payments ahead of the 2016 election.
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Dodged another bullet eh Donny?