The details of what got modified today in Justice Engoron’s court have not all come out yet, but the gist of what happened, according to Raw Story, is that Donald Trump loses all access to the Charles Schwab brokerage account which purportedly provided “cash collateral,” for the $175M bond. I put it in quotes because of two ambiguities, one is the fact that Don Hankey said that the bond was secured by “cash and other collateral” and the “other collateral” was never specified. Nor were the amounts of each.
Everything you could ever want to know on this issue is in this story based on Seth Abramson’s reporting. The money is a bit funny, not only because Trump had access to the Schwab account and could withdraw funds at will, but Don Hankey has ties to the Cayman Islands banking system, which is the source of much scrutiny, having served as a money laundering locale.
Nevertheless, this is the resolution for the moment and more details will be forthcoming. Alina Habba was in court. She was in her top form. The judge doesn’t know anything about finance, according to her. He’s an idiot. Well, just read it for yourself.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Habba noted that Trump was on trial in another courtroom for allegedly falsifying business records to pay off an adult film star after an alleged affair.
“It’s a disgrace to the American judicial system,” Habba said. “He should not have two teams of lawyers here today. He should not even be here today because he did nothing wrong. It is the epitome of a witch hunt.”
“I just left where a judge asked us whether our cash, cash bond, cash sitting in…, Ms. James wanted to argue and say that our cash somehow isn’t green enough,” she complained.
Habba said Justice Arthur Engoron, who initially appeared dubious of Trump’s bond scheme, “doesn’t even understand basic principles of finance.”
The attorney announced that Trump’s bond would not be revoked, but the terms of the agreement would be modified.
Both sides agreed to the bond after Trump’s team agreed that he would rescind control of a Charles Schwab account he had put up as collateral.
“This is where your taxpayer dollars are going, America,” Habba said, pivoting to the hush-money case. “Right here, witch hunt after witch hunt. “And now what?”
“We’re here because of something that happened when he was in the White House that wasn’t even wrong. It was not wrong. You hire lawyers to solve problems, lawyers solve those problems, you pay them. That’s it.”
Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was expected to testify that the former president directed him how to structure payments in the hush-money case. Prosecutors contended that Trump made the payments to influence the 2016 election.
If you want to hear Habba rant, hit the Raw Story link in the first paragraph. It’s pure angertainment. Saint Donald of Orange is under siege by the White House. Same old same old.
Meanwhile, court was dismissed early for Passover in the Trump hush money trial and tomorrow when court resumes Trump’s gag order violations will be the first order of business.
Well Ms. Habba, many a counterfeiter has been caught because the bogus cash they made wasn’t upon a close look the right shade of green! In addition (this is after all Trump we’re talking about) it’s questionable if he’d have 175 million in even counterfeit money to show the court!
Doesn’t add up. If trump does have $175 million cash in his Schwab account, he doesn’t need KSI. They will be charging him a hefty fee for their bond, so why bother? The answer may be he has substantially less than $175 million and KSI is making up the difference in return for real estate as collateral. There’s an odor coming out from behind the closed doors, and it’s probably only going to get stronger.