Letitia James challenges Trump’s $175 million bond in fraud case

New York Attorney General Letitia James is challenging former President Donald Trump again by raising questions about the $175 million bond he posted in his New York civil fraud case. 

Trump filed his bond Monday after a New York appeals court lowered the amount from $464 million to $175 million. Now James is questioning the bond, as the insurer that underwrote the bond, California-based Knight Specialty Insurance Company, is not regulated by New York. 

James filed a “notice of exception to the sufficiency of the surety” to seek additional information from Trump about the insurance company. The hearing is set for April 22. 

The challenge does not harm Trump’s bond but makes it so that the insurance company will need to show proof that they can pay it. According to court filings, Knight Specialty Insurance Company has $539 million in assets, including $26.8 million in cash. The company said they are not authorized to issue surety bonds in New York state, so they could not obtain a certificate from the New York Department of Financial Services, which is usually included in bond packages, according to CNN. 

Trump’s attorney called James’s challenge a “baseless and vindictive political crusade.”

“After hiding out in silence following an embarrassing loss in the First Department which does not bode well for the future of her baseless and vindictive political crusade, the Attorney General now seeks to stir up some equally baseless public quarrel in a desperate effort to regain relevance,” said Chris Kise, an attorney for Trump.

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Trump narrowly escaped having his assets frozen by James after he said 30 underwriters refused to pay his original $464 million bond. 

The April 22 hearing will take place after hearings are set to begin in Trump’s New York hush money case.