Former President Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba's words came back to haunt her after news outlets reported the former President can't come up with a $454 million bond he owes New York Attorney General Letitia James after he was found liable in a civil fraud case.
As the deadline approaches for Trump to appeal the judgment handed down by Judge Arthur Engoron last month, Trumpâs legal team disclosed that he has been unable to procure the necessary funds to secure the bond. They pointed out that he actually needed to secure closer to $557 million, as most bond agents mandate 120% as collateral.
As per the filing submitted on Monday, Trump's legal representatives made attempts to persuade 30 underwriters to back the staggering bond, yet none of them were willing to accept his properties as collateral.
However, in a February Newsmax interview, Habba insisted there wlll be "no issues" securing a bond at all:
"I'm not going to get into privileged information [about the extent of Trump's finances] but there will be a bond and there will be no issues with that and that's all I'll say on that."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Habba was clearly wrongâand she and Trump were mocked as a result.
If Trump fails to obtain a ruling from the appeals court to halt Engoronâs ruling from February 16 or to reduce the security deposit, he will need to submit the total amount to the court by March 25 to automatically prevent the Attorney General from initiating the collection process.
This process could involve requesting the sheriff to seize his properties, including iconic New York landmarks like Trump Tower, among other methods.
Trump appealed Engoronâs significant ruling on February 26. Previously, he attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the mid-level appellate court to allow him to deposit a smaller sum of $100 million while appealing.
Despite claiming to be worth billions and having at least $400 million in cash, the former president relinquished his efforts after extensive negotiations with one of the world's largest insurance companies, according to an affidavit from Gary Giulietti, a broker and long-time associate of Trump's, who testified for the defense during the trial and whose credibility was questioned.
