Yesterday we learned the shocking news from Donald Trump's legal team that he has thus far been unable to raise the ludicrous sum of $454 million to post a bond in his civil "fraud" trial in New York City. Under the terms of the latest round of lawfare being waged against him by partisan NY Attorney General Letitia James, Trump is supposed to put up the bond in cash and can not use the value of his properties to cover the requirement while he appeals the ruling. Trump's team reportedly approached multiple financial firms, but none were willing to put up the cash against the value of his properties without doing so at a ruinous disadvantage to the former President. The deadline is Monday, so what happens if he can't pull this off or obtain some relief through the courts? The DA will be able to start going after his properties around the city, something she has previously said she "would not hesitate to do." (NY Post)

New York Attorney General Letitia James will be free to start going after Donald Trump’s prized properties should the former president fail to make the deadline to post the $454 million bond in his civil fraud case.

Trump, 77, on Monday filed papers in an appeal court case seeking to get out of having to post the bond as he fights the massive judgment from February — which accrues $112,000 in interest daily.

The presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee had approached over 30 firms to secure the bond — to no avail — and he’s facing “insurmountable difficulties” getting the financial backing, his attorneys wrote in the filings.

This has been the goal of Letitia James from the beginning, almost certainly in coordination with Biden's Justice Department and the White House. It's just one element of the larger lawfare playbook being deployed against Trump. They will do their level best to try to bankrupt him and tarnish his image as a successful entrepreneur, hoping that it will drag down his standing in the polls. 

The ridiculous amounts of money involved simply highlight the absurd premise behind this entire scheme. Trump was hit with politically motivated charges that have never been filed based on such a premise in a court of law. He was found guilty of fraud when there was no evidence of any injured party ever being defrauded. Most legal analysts seem to agree that this conviction should be immediately overturned on appeal. But that doesn't matter to Trump's political opponents. The goal is to keep him off the playing field and tied up with all of this nonsense when he should be out on the campaign trail. It's all painfully obvious.

Making matters worse is the fact that Trump isn't simply being required to post a bond in the amount of the judgment. He has to post 120% of that amount, bringing the total to an eye-watering $557.5 million. That's more than half a billion dollars to satisfy the ambitions of a Democratic Attorney General and a Trump-hating Democratic judge, both of whom should have recused themselves from this case before it even began.

Trump's attorneys argue that he shouldn't be forced to sell off his New York properties in a "fire sale" where he would never be able to recoup the losses after the appeal. Unfortunately, this is New York City we're talking about, so those appeals for reason will almost certainly fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, Letitia James is champing at the bit, drooling over the prospect of seizing some of Trump's properties not only in New York but "outside the state also," possibly including Mar-a-Lago. That's the real trophy they are after. 

There is nothing resembling actual justice unfolding here, but justice was never the point of all of this. Letitia James ran for office on a promise to "get Trump." And that's been basically all she has done since being sworn in. All of this nonsense should be wiped away later, but as long as James and Judge Engoron can keep Donald Trump on the ropes until the election, their role in this unsavory drama will have been fulfilled. That's been the goal since the beginning and nothing has changed. It would be truly delicious to see them eating crow if Trump still winds up prevailing in the end, though.