Trump’s Lawyers Argue It’s Carroll’s Fault He Won’t Post Bond, So There

Lawyers for Donald Trump could and should start their own literary genre when all is said and done. Most of them will have enough money to retire to a tropical isle, if they get paid and get out at the right time, and on that isle they could create Legal Science Fiction and Fantasy. This will be a genre that bears some attenuated relationship to the actual rule of law, but involves insanely twisted logic and contorted reasoning, particularly where it comes to money.

If you’re looking for an example of the genre, you can do no better than this. “Donald Trump is arguing that he shouldn’t have to post the massive bond in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against him … because he’s simply too rich.” Did that get your attention? But wait, there’s more:

Trump owes Carroll $83.3 million for defaming her in 2019 when she first accused him of sexual assault. The former president had 30 days to either pay the damages or post a bond required by New York state law to appeal the decision. But Trump’s legal team filed a motion on Friday to delay payment.

What’s that you say? Why would a man who is richer than God himself file a motion to delay? I mean, Mar-a-Lago itself is worth one and a half billion dollars, right? What’s a lousy $83.3 million and $5 million on the initial verdict? Well, you see, it’s more complicated than that and Trump’s lawyers will explain. Listen close.

“Having argued to the jury that President Trump has great financial resources, Plaintiff is in no position to contradict herself now and contend that she requires the protection of a bond during the brief period while post-trial motions are pending,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

They argued that Trump’s extreme wealth was security enough that he would eventually pay. The lawyers also suggested that the court project that the total judgment would be reduced on appeal to $22.25 million, requiring a bond of about $24.48 million.

This is flailing. This is fish out of water, beached whale time. This is the ne plus ultra of desperation. Their request for a “projection” that the judgment be reduced to one quarter of what it is now is simply wild. I don’t claim to know bupkis about appellate law but what little I do know, this does not look normal.

Presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday declined to grant Trump a stay until Carroll’s lawyers had a chance to reply. Carroll’s legal team has until Thursday to respond, and then Trump’s team has until March 2 to reply to them. Kaplan also noted that Trump’s team had waited almost until the end of his payment window to file the request for a stay.

Of course he did. He was trying to find the cash and while the sneakers sales did okay, they didn’t do as well as he hoped and then there’s that tacky copyright infringement over the red soles, and he could maybe ask Melania for that 25 carat diamond ring back, except they would have to be on speaking terms first, and he’s working on that when he’s not working on getting the bond money for the Trump Organization fine. Whew. Exhausting.

And yes, it does get worse, even from here.

Under New York law, if a person wants to appeal a civil case ruling, they must first post a bond equal to 110 percent of the judgment. [*%#$^& 110%?] In this case, Trump would have to pay $91.63 million in order to appeal the Carroll ruling.

Now it’s $91.63 million, and Trump was trying to figure out how to just put together maybe the interest-only payments on the punitive damages. You can see where this is going. This is turning into a financial snowball and snowballs this size usually turn into avalanches. And this avalanche is going to be enough to crush the inhabitants of Trump world, that much is certain.

But wait! What about the RNC money? Now Trump really needs it, more than ever. Let’s see what happens after their March 8 meeting. Ronna announced that March 8 is her last day. That’s less than two weeks from now, so if Donald can just hold his finger in the dam until then, maybe Lara can bail him out, finally, when she takes over the RNC. (And I remind you, this was the punchline of jokes a mere two weeks ago. Now it’s a reality.)

Or, maybe those pesky resolutions before the RNC to not pay any of Trump’s legal bills will pass. Trump is depending on securing the nomination on March 5, Super Tuesday. That would give him access to the RNC’s fundraising data, ground operations, and most importantly, money. That is, if all goes according to plan.

But the fact that resolutions were even introduced to keep the RNC from paying Trump’s legal bills says a lot in and of itself. He may be up for more of a fight than he knows. What is happening right now could be the quiet before the elephantine storm. I think that it very well might be. I can’t see these disillusioned mega donors writing Trump big checks to pay his lawyers and his fines. I think they may opt to save the party for a post-Trump era instead.