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| EFE |
Former President of the United States, Donald Trump (2017-2021), offered this Wednesday to an appeals court to pay a $100 million bail to pause the fine of over $350 million (which, with interest, rises to $450 million) imposed on him two weeks ago by a judge in New York.
Even if the court agrees to consider the proposal, the defense of the former president would still have to convince a panel of judges to accept this pause in the sentence.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the civil case against the Trump Organization for inflating asset values to secure favorable deals with banks and insurers, has threatened to seize his assets if the former president does not pay the money.
"The exorbitant and punitive amount of the sentence, together with an illegal and unconstitutional ban on loans, would make it impossible to secure and pay a full bond," said Trump's defense in a court document.
The prosecution, on the other hand, asked the appeals court to reject Trump's request and suggested that his proposal to pay only part of the sentence as bail shows that the former president does not have enough cash.
On the other hand, if the former president were to pay the over $450 million of the sentence as bail, the prosecutor could not collect the money until his appeal is resolved.
Although it is not certain how much cash Trump has accumulated, some U.S. media have speculated in recent days that the businessman may be forced to sell some of his properties to pay the fine.
On February 16, Judge Arthur Engoron of the New York Supreme Court ordered Trump to pay over $350 million for various cases of fraud in the Trump Organization, and prohibited him from seeking loans from New York banks for three years or serving as a director of any company or legal entity in the state during that time.