TRUTHY

There is a bond but it's riddled with holes. And there's some shady handshake deals between Trump and his friend, Don Hankey, Chairman of Knights Specialty Insurance Company over who actually has the cash in their hands. Trump claims he has $125 million but he doesn't want to turn it over to Hankey to secure the bond unless he loses the appeal. I don't think that's the way appellant court works but we'll see.

Hankey has bailed Trump out in the past but never for this amount or for any deal this sketchy. I've lost track of Trump's extensions but I think Monday, April 15 is the deadline for Trump, Hankey and the appeals court to reach a conclusion.

Trump is as slippery as an eel. He'll drive this case into the ground before he quits.

BTW, April 15 is also the day the hush-hush money case starts to pick a jury.

I'd like to say the walls are closing in but I know Trump better than that.

He's been known to fire his attorneys just to get more time.

TRUTHY

That's true. But usually a defendant has an appeal attorney all lined up and up to speed long before the appeal has a scheduled court date. Right now, Trump is on borrowed time with some scheme to swindle the State out of the full amount of the bond when he loses the appeal.

LAMP

"You mean, fmr Pres Trump ~promised~ to pay a bill presented to him?"

It's really a moot point. Trump knows he's going to lose the appeal. He was just using the appeal to buy time anyway. He just didn't want it to cost him $175 million.

I doubt if the appeals court is going to let Trump's scheme get past them. Plus they have a lot of other issues with Trump's attorneys who failed to notify the court that Knight Specialty Insurance Company had agreed to pony up the full half billion dollars before the court lowered the bond to $175 million.

Then there's the matter of some missing documents Knight failed to deliver.

I understand why Alina Habba had to go. She couldn't even pretend to be qualified. Plus, she had foot-in-mouth disease.

I assume that the rest of Trump's legal team are intact.

DBT2

Indeed it was. Think twice, lest we learn more about you than you know about her.

DONNERBOY

Don't sell Hankey short. He's no little fish. He's a billionaire seven times over with many irons in the fire. He was also the one who came to Trump's rescue during the sale of Trump's International Hotel in D.C. (old post office building) which netted Trump millions of dollars over the value of the hotel ~~ a sale that is still under investigation.

Hankey is a scam artist by profession and Trump's go-to guy when he needs money.

There's no reason to be squabbling over a paltry $175 million bond unless there's a scam involved for Trump to get his appeal and short change the State of New York when he loses.

As always, the object is to buy time on the cheap. Trump would call that a win.

DONNERBOY

"If he's a billionaire how come he can't come up with a $175 million dollar bond?"

He could guarantee it personally . . . if that's all there was to it.

But it's not. The object is the scam.

DONNERBOY

Here's some more information from the Daily Beast:

When a sub-prime lender and a real estate fraud get together to post a bond, raucous hilarity ensues.

In shocking news, Donald Trump's financial savior, Don Hankey, is backfiring spectacularly in his shady attempt to curry favor with the Orange Menace. Sneaky language, insufficient funds, and Hankey's big mouth seem to be problematic.

In reality, though, a strict reading of "Bond No. 350588" shows that even the smaller company isn't technically on the hook for paying out the $175 million if higher courts ultimately cement his loss to the AG.

Buried in the typical legalese of the contract is the phrase: "Knight Specialty Insurance Company ... does hereby ... undertake that if the judgment ... is dismissed ... Donald J. Trump ... shall pay ... the sum directed."

In other words: If Trump loses the case, Trump will pay. But that's no different than Trump's obligation before the bond was issued.

"Getting into the weeds, the company undertakes that Trump will pay," said one bond industry source who declined to be publicly identified for this story.

As an aside, Trump's appeal to delay the hush money case has also been rejected. Jury selection begins on Monday.

Since Hankey can't seem to find it in his heart or bank account to offer anything more than a character reference for Trump's $175 million bond, Trump still has until Monday to pull another rabbit out of the hat.

Plus

Maybe Trump will sue his BFF Hankey and Knight Specialty Insurance Company for reneging on their deal.

AU

You've heard the expression "Buy Low, Sell High?"

Now would be a good time for Trump to buy 100% of the shares and be the King of his own little Empire and rule the world from his gold-plated bathroom fixture.

ALEX

I think you missed the joke.

AU

There must be a method to that madness. I can only surmise that they're betting on Trump winning in 2024 and the stock is going to soar. Which is also why the 6 month lockdown is of no concern to Trump. They can all just wait it out.