New York Attorney General Letitia James is challenging the $175 million bond former President Donald Trump posted in his civil fraud case. The bond was put up by Knight Specialty Insurance, part of the Knight Insurance Group run by billionaire Don Hankey, its chairman and majority shareholder. James filed a notice with the the court saying the DA’s office “takes exception to the sufficiency” of the bond.
The DA’s office seeks assurance the Knight Specialty Insurance can cover the bond, assurance which may include more specific information about what Trump put up as collateral. Judge Arthur Engoron has scheduled a hearing on the bond issue for April 22.
Hankey, who has said he has never met nor spoken with Trump, said Trump provided both cash and bonds as collateral for the appellate bond, which guarantees payment if the judgment against Trump is upheld on appeal.
[Note: Hankey is also one of the largest individual investors of Axos Bank, which provided funding to refinance Trump Tower and take out a $100 million loan in 2022, when the Trump Organization’s real estate valuations were under scrutiny due to the New York fraud case.]
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner responded to James’s challenge of the $175 million bond with sarcasm and wondered if Hankey “has a partner name Pankey,” and said he’s convinced that Engoron and James “will figure out whether the bond involves any financial, you know, hankey-pankey” — an assertion implicit in James’s filing.
So NY AG Leticia James has filed a “notice of exception” challenging the $175 million bond Trump posted to stop James from seizing his properties. Now, Judge Engoron has set a hearing for April 22 to see if the bond involves any financial . . . hankey-pankey. pic.twitter.com/AI0yAFKxdC
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) April 7, 2024
Note: Kirschner is less confident in Judge Aileen Cannon, in whose Florida court the DOJ’s classified documents case against Trump is being litigated. In the video below, Kirschner asserts: “The American people deserve to have confidence in the outcome of this trial,” and “I don’t believe anybody will have confidence unless the motion to remove her is filed, litigated, and ultimately resolved.”
“The American people deserve to have confidence in the outcome of this trial,” @GlennKirschner2 on the classified documents case. “I don’t believe anybody will have confidence unless the motion to remove her is filed, litigated, and ultimately resolved.” pic.twitter.com/jut1HpG7mW
— The Katie Phang Show (@katiephangshow) April 6, 2024