Politics

Trump begs MAGA supporters for help with $464M fraud bond: ‘Keep your filthy hands off Trump Tower!’

Former President Donald Trump issued a frantic plea for financial support to MAGA voters Wednesday as his deadline to pay his $454 million bond in the New York civil fraud case looms.

“KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF TRUMP TOWER!,” reads a message to Trump’s supporters from a joint fundraising committee that allocates the money to his campaign and a separate political committee that has been paying his legal bills.

The civil fraud case brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James in 2022 is one of several legal battles Trump faces ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

Donald Trump is asking his supporters to help him pay his fraud bond.
Donald Trump is asking his supporters to help him pay his fraud bond. AP

The message urged supporters to donate in amounts ranging from $20.24 to $3,300 or more.

Trump, 77, has also increasingly become more certain in his public statements that the $454M bond amount will be “not possible” to secure before Monday’s deadline when James can start seizing his properties.

“Even though I did nothing wrong, a Radical Left New York Judge, a true Trump Hater, Arthur Engoron (Are we allowed to speak about his Unconstitutional Gag Order?), picked a number out of THIN AIR, $355,000,000, plus interest (reminiscent of John Lovitz, “The Liar,” on SNL when it was good), & wants me to bond it, which is not possible for bonding companies to do in such a high amount, before I can even Appeal,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Thursday morning.

In the message to supporters, Trump also accused James of wanting to seize his properties as part of a “witch hunt” led by President Biden and the Democrats to ruin his re-election campaign. 

“So before the day is over, I’m calling on ONE MILLION Pro-Trump patriots to chip in and say: STOP THE WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!” the message said. 

Donald Trump gestures to supporters during a campaign rally at the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia, U.S. March 9, 2024.
The civil fraud case brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James in 2022 is one of several legal battles Trump faces ahead of the upcoming presidential election. REUTERS

Biden has previously said he is not involved in any of the cases against his predecessor. 

While Trump’s fundraising page alludes to James’ case, it does not say the funds would be used to cover it. 

It’s unclear if, under federal law, Trump could use the funds to pay for the judgment. 

Federal law prohibits using campaign money for personal expenses. Still, Trump has been able to use donor money to pay for some of his lawyers’ fees after claiming his legal defense is campaign-related. 

Trump’s lawyers told a New York appellate court Monday that 30 surety companies had rejected him for a bond that would cover the massive civil fraud judgment, bringing him closer to having his properties seized. 

Trump must pay or post a bond to prevent the state from taking his property while he works to appeal the judgment against him for misstating property values to dupe lenders and insurers. 

Earlier this month, Trump posted a $91.6 million bond to cover an $83.3 million defamation verdict in the case involving writer E. Jean Carroll, which he has appealed. 

But the massive bond in the civil fraud case has left Trump scrambling to find the money. 

His legal team sent a letter to the Supreme Court of New York on Thursday reiterating the former president should not have to sell off his properties in a “fire sale” to get enough funds to cover the bond.

“It would be completely illogical—and the definition of an unconstitutional Excessive Fine and a Taking—to require Defendants to sell properties at all, and especially in a ‘fire sale,’ in order to be able to appeal the lawless Supreme Court judgment, as that would cause harm that cannot be repaired once the Defendants do win, as is overwhelmingly likely, on appeal,” the letter read.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all of the civil and criminal cases against him.