Trump’s Legal Team Fights Unconstitutional Punishment in New York Case

by Jeff Childers

Fox News ran a troubling story yesterday headlined, “Legal experts weigh in on Trump’s options after failure to secure $464M appeal bond: ‘uncharted territory’.” The headline undersold the story. Yesterday, Trump’s New York lawyers filed a massive five thousand page appellate reply brief in corpse-like Judge Engoran’s “over priced real estate” case. The brief itself came to 29 pages. The rest was affidavits and exhibits.

The Reply’s very first exhibit was the affidavit of Gary Giulietti, president of the Lockton Companies, described as “the largest privately held insurance brokerage firm in the world.” That would make him a qualified insurance expert. Gary started with the conclusion—bonding the unbelievable $464 judgment is literally impossible:

 
Later, Gary explained why buying a bond for that insane judgment is impossible—it’s because it’s another legal unicorn:

 
Finally, Gary noted that, even if Trump could get a bond for that whopper judgment, the bond’s cost, by itself, would be “punitive”:

 
Trump’s lawyers are smartly setting up the appellate argument that the bond requirement itself is unconstitutional in this case. There are two ways to argue constitutional issues: ‘facially’ or ‘as-applied.’ In a facial challenge, a plaintiff argues a law is unconstitutional for everybody. But in the less-common ‘as-applied’ scenario, the plaintiff argues the law only becomes unconstitutional when it is applied to him.

To prevent being reversed for unconstitutional “unusual punishment” or “excessive fines,” Judge Engoran, who looks much like an old goat, would have been better off ordering a lower penalty for Trump’s completely victimless crime. But the pallid Judge got greedy, or happy, or something, and ordered an historic, planet-sized judgment, which is now creating all sorts of legal problems.

To make the constitutional argument, the Trump team first needed to prove they really tried to buy an affordable bond — but couldn’t. That is exactly what this reply memo carefully documented.

You’re getting to see some very good lawyering here. Trump’s lawyers are multiplying the issues, giving themselves more tools with which to work. They started out with very little to work with and are building the tools as they go.

Monday is the deadline to post the bond. If Trump doesn’t post the bond, and the appeals court refuses to stay without bond, then woke, Soros-funded District Attorney Letitia James can commence collections. Like foreclosing on — liquidating — Trump’s various properties in New York.

But that won’t end the fight. Trump can resist collections, and can fight with James in state court, on a property-by-property basis, slowing things down. When Trump runs out of state-court options, he can then throw the threatened properties into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He might be able to stop Letitia James for two or three years.

So, the bond is a real problem, but it isn’t fatal. Not yet. Trump still has options.

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