Lawyers for former President Donald Trump file an emergency appeal challenging Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to prosecute Trump and 18 others on election interference charges now that lead prosecutor Nathan Wade has stepped down. Trump’s lawyers tell a New York appeals court that he faces “insurmountable difficulties” in securing the $464 million bond from lenders that he is required to pay as he appeals the judgment in his financial fraud civil trial. Trump is also asking the court to lower the amount he must pay while he appeals the case. Here are the latest legal developments facing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee for 2024.
Georgia election interference
Trump appeals judge’s decision allowing Fani Willis to remain on case
Key players: Trump lawyer Steve Sadow, Judge Scott McAfee, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, former lead prosecutor Nathan Wade, the Georgia Court of Appeals
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On Monday, Trump and eight of his co-defendants filed an emergency appeal of McAfee’s ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the case against Trump and 18 others so long as Wade stepped aside, USA Today reported.
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“The motion notes that the Court found that Willis’ actions created an appearance of impropriety and an ‘odor of mendacity’ that lingers in this case, but it nonetheless refused to dismiss the case or disqualify her,” the filing with the Georgia Court of Appeals stated.
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Willis and Wade admitted to having a romantic relationship, but denied conflict of interest claims by the defendants that Willis had benefited financially by hiring Wade or had lied when called to testify about that relationship.
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Willis indicted Trump and 18 others for their efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. So far, four of the defendants have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the others charged in the case.
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McAfee has yet to schedule a date for the trial for the remaining defendants.
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It is unclear whether the appeals court will take the case.
Why it matters: While McAfee allowed Willis to remain on the case, the appeals process could further delay the trial against Trump and the other defendants until after the November election.
New York financial fraud
Trump asks appeals court to allow him to delay payment of bond
Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump lawyers Alina Habba and Clifford Robert, Trump Organization general counsel Alan Garten
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Trump’s lawyers told a New York appeals court that the former president had approached 30 underwriters to try to secure the $464 million bond required for him to proceed with his appeal of Engoron’s judgment in the financial fraud trial, but none had agreed to lend him the money, CNN reported.
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“The amount of the judgment, with interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a court filing.
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Trump is asking the appeals court to reduce the bond amount and to delay its payment until after his appeal is heard.
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Last month, Engoron ordered Trump to pay the state $355 million plus interest for years of fraudulent business practices, including the inflation of his assets to obtain favorable loan and insurance rates.
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Trump is appealing the decision, which obliges him to deposit 110% of the total amount owed into an escrow account as the appeals court hears the case.
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In Monday’s filing, Garten also painted a dim outlook for Trump’s ability to raise the bond amount.
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“Defendants have faced what have proven to be insurmountable difficulties in obtaining an appeal bond for the full $464 million,” he wrote, ABC News reported.
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James has said that if Trump does not come up with the full bond amount, she would go after his real estate assets.
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“Obtaining such cash through a ‘fire sale’ of real estate holdings would inevitably result in massive, irrecoverable losses — textbook irreparable injury,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in their filing.
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Habba and Robert also argued that the bond amount was “unconstitutionally excessive.”
Why it matters: During his trial, Trump told the court that he had $400 million on hand that he could apply toward a bond. Since then, he lost two high-profile cases, pushing his liabilities over half a billion dollars. He has paid a nearly $92 billion bond amount as he appeals a jury’s verdict in the defamation lawsuits brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll.
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