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‘Something’s Fishy Here’: Trump’s Latest $175 Million Bond Filings Questioned by Experts
Attorneys for Donald Trump waited until less than two hours before midnight Monday to file revisions to the ex-president’s $175 million bond for the judgment in his civil fraud case after New York State Attorney General Letitia James questioned the validity of his first bond. Legal experts are now questioning details of the new bond filings. Some suggest a portion of the $175 million might also currently be in use to secure other debts or obligations.
After Trump was found liable for manipulation of his net worth in the civil business fraud case and ordered to pay a $354.9 million penalty plus interest, he was required to post bond to ensure the people of the State of New York would receive $454.2 million if his appeal is unsuccessful.
“The judge said that the former president’s ‘complete lack of contrition’ bordered on pathological,” The New York Times reported two months ago.
Trump’s attorneys later declared it impossible for him to come up with a bond of that amount, and an appeals court drastically reduced the required bond amount to $175 million.
READ MORE: ‘Your Client Is a Criminal Defendant’: Judge Denies Trump Request to Skip Trial for SCOTUS
After 10 PM Monday night, ahead of the midnight deadline, attorneys for Donald Trump in court filings said the $175 million bond is secured, and is tied to a Trump account at Charles Schwab that has over $175 million in cash, CNN reports. The filing states the California company securing the bond, Knight Specialty Insurance Company (KSIC), has administrative access to it and can pay out the $175 million if needed.
Trump’s attorneys “asked the judge to set aside the attorney general’s challenge to the bond and award him costs and fees.”
Professor of law Andrew Weissmann, a frequent MSNBC legal analyst and former Dept. of Justice official, is raising questions.
“Something’s fishy here,” he wrote late Monday night. “If Trump has $175M free and clear, why not just directly post it and not pay a fee for a surety bond? And the agreement does not give Knight a lien on the account as collateral and seems to afford Trump a two-day window to dissipate the account.”
A screenshot of a portion of the filing, posted by MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin, states, “Schwab, as custodian of the account, has acknowledged KSIC’s right to exercise control over the account within two business days of receiving notice from KSIC of KSIC’s intent to activate the control.”
Attorney and journalist Seth Abramson in a series of posts on social media claimed, “so this is looking very bad for Donald Trump. He says in his Monday night filing that the Schwab account has $175.3 million *in total*, so *if* Axos Bank is depending on that same account for a (semi-)liquid $100M in collateral on another loan, this bond filing is DOA.”
After asking, “Is Trump double-dipping?” Abramson posted more details.
8/ You’ve got to be kidding me. The collateral Trump says he gave Hankey a security interest in…
…is the same fund he used to pay off Stormy Daniels. So the use of *that very funding source* is the subject of a *criminal trial* right now.
MORE @ VOX:https://t.co/uh7OZebanf pic.twitter.com/xQAFkGjTbt
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) April 16, 2024
NCRM has not verified those claims.
Attorney Lupe B. Luppen adds, “it took about ten seconds from opening the account security agreement to find a significant drafting error, which makes the signature page look like it belongs to a different agreement (DJT Jr’s attestation identifies the wrong secured party—a Chubb co.).”
READ MORE: ‘Scared to Death’: GOP Ex-Congressman Brings Hammer Down on ‘Weak’ Trump
Late Monday night on MSNBC Weissmann “expressed incredulity,” as Mediaite reported, saying of Trump and his bond: “It is just so remarkable. This is somebody who has been found by two juries to have defamed somebody, who has been found to have sexually assaulted somebody – the company of which has been found criminally liable for a decade-long tax conspiracy, criminally, and has been found to have committed fraud, has to post a bond of $175 million, is on trial starting today for a criminal case involving 34 felonies.”
“And he can’t find a frigging company that is registered in New York? Meaning, that they are licensed to do business here, which it appears they are not, and that has the wherewithal to pay the money because remember, the whole point is that you either have to put up the money now or you have to find a bond company that is sufficiently liquid that the plaintiff can look to that bond company if at the end of the day the judgment is affirmed.”
Attorney General Letitia James earlier had alleged KSIC, the company that secured the bond, was not registered to do so in New York. Experts questioned the language of that filing, claiming it did not require the company that secured the bond to actually pay out $175 million should Trump lose his appeal and be ordered to pay the full amount.
Calling it a “bizarre contract,” earlier this month The Daily Beast reported, “the legal document from Knight Specialty Insurance Company doesn’t actually promise it will pay the money if the former president loses his $464 million bank fraud case on appeal. Instead, it says Trump will pay, negating the whole point of an insurance company guarantee.”
READ MORE: ‘Not a Good Start’: Judge Slams Trump’s ‘Offensive’ Recusal Claims as a ‘Loose End’
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A large panel fell seemingly dozens of feet from above onto the stage during a rehearsal for a performance at an event for President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250, according to video posted by attorney Aaron Parnas.
“The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250’s July 4th celebration,” Parnas wrote.
After the panel fell, someone can be heard on the video saying, “I was waiting for something like that to happen.”
Critics blasted the administration while others issued warnings.
“This is incredibly dangerous stuff,” wrote journalist Ryan Grim. “Trump cutting safety corners with stage building is the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies, which is not uncommon if you slap it together like this. This equipment is deadly when falling from those heights.”
“Literally a miracle no one was hurt here,” noted journalist Philip Lewis.
“In all seriousness, that actually looks really dangerous for the performers. It’s scary how unsafe this all seems,” observed journalist Pablo Manríquez.
“The sheer incompetence of this administration is really rather astonishing. Everything these people touch is shoddily done. This era is replete with evidence that experience and professionalism actually matter,” wrote author Jennifer Erin Valent.
“If there was ever a metaphor for how historians will look back at Trump’s presidency at this moment in time, it’s this,” wrote health care consultant and National Organization for Women vice president Melanie D’Arrigo.
“The Freedom 250 rehearsal stage falling apart is the perfect analogy for the Trump administration,” The Lincoln Project commented.
“Glad everyone’s ok — it’s also hard to imagine a better metaphor for the current state of [America] than this,” wrote the progressive media outlet The Tennessee Holler.
“Trump’s state fair is *literally* falling apart,” remarked liberal political commentator Harry Sisson.
One commenter added, “Those performers are incredibly lucky. That falling piece of debris looked heavy, sharp and came down at incredible speed.”
Trump’s Freedom 250 July 4th event is also besieged by a massive heat wave enveloping part of the country.
“U.S. Capitol Police have already restricted Thursday night’s rehearsal for ‘A Capitol Fourth Concert’ to essential personnel, posting on X that they came to the decision after consulting with the Capitol’s Office of the Attending Physician,” The New Republic reported.
“For safety reasons, the public will not be able to attend tonight’s rehearsal concert,” the Capitol Police’s post read. “Everyone is sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. The National Weather Service is forecasting an extreme heat watch with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.”
The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250’s July 4th celebration. pic.twitter.com/bPbg94hp6X
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) July 2, 2026
Longtime political scientist Dr. Norman Ornstein on Thursday floated a prediction that one political commentator suggested could throw the November 2026 midterms into chaos.
“Something I predicted multiple times is about to come true,” said Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and contributing editor for The Atlantic.
Ornstein said that President Donald Trump’s acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, “is going to cut a deal with Maduro to have him falsely claim that Venezuela tilted the 2020 elections. In return, he and his wife are likely to be in the same prison as Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Maduro is Nicolás Maduro, the former president of Venezuela whom the U.S. Army’s Delta Force captured in January. He and his wife, currently imprisoned in Brooklyn, are expected to stand trial on numerous drug-trafficking charges.
Blanche reportedly is behind the controversial move of former Epstein partner Ghislaine Maxwell to a less-restrictive prison.
Political commentator Tara Setmayer, co-founder of The Seneca Project, appeared to agree with Ornstein.
“I’m hearing this Maduro rumor also,” she wrote. “As soon as he was captured, I thought Trump would try this nonsense.”
“Firing [Pam] Bondi, then [Tulsi] Gabbard opened up this scheme with Blanche & [Bill] Pulte as the henchmen,” she explained. Pulte is the acting Director of National Intelligence, who replaced Gabbard.
“I hope this doesn’t happen but it’s more than plausible and would throw the midterms into utter chaos,” Setmayer warned.
Political strategist and California State Senate candidate Christine Pelosi responded to Ornstein, saying, “Co-sign.”
She explained that she had discussed the scenario with journalist April Ryan back in February.
“My personal theory on this is, number one, Donald Trump can’t believe he lost” in 2020, Pelosi told Ryan. “He would like to take every ballot and recount them himself, but he can’t.”
“But I think they seized Georgia [ballots] because he wants to find a way to pardon Maduro,” Pelosi continued. “He wants to find a way for Maduro to admit election fraud in 2020, so he can justify taking over the financial resources of Venezuela. It’s always the money. Yes, it’s the racism. Yes, it’s the xenophobia. Yes, it’s the pulling up the ladder behind it. But ultimately, with Donald Trump, it is follow the money.”
Also responding to Ornstein was investigative journalist Dave Troy, who wrote: “This is insane but totally plausible. We are living in a fact-free world now.”
Image via Reuters
As temperatures in the Big Apple are set to hit triple digits, Republicans are melting down over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s request that residents in the five boroughs turn their air conditioners to 78 degrees — advice President Donald Trump’s own Department of Energy offers as well, as do some of their own states.
“New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool,” Mayor Mamdani noted on Wednesday, as a multi-day heat wave pushed temperatures to the mid-90s. Temperatures are expected to hit 100 degrees on Thursday for the first time in over a decade.
“Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can,” Mamdani asked. “Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment. A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let’s ease demand — and get through the heat — together.”
That request did not go over well on the right.
“Welcome to socialism, where the government demands you turn your house into a sauna because they can’t plan for the super unpredictable fact that it tends to get hot in the summer,” retorted U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX).
“This is what socialism looks like, folks,” added Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP’s nominee for governor of Ohio. “The right answer isn’t restrictions or mandates. It’s drilling, fracking, coal, & nuclear. That’s how we’ll roll in Ohio.”
“In a first-world country, you could turn on the A/C….” wrote U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), only to be met with a community note on the X social media platform, which read: “Ted Cruz’s own state has made the same request on numerous occasions.”
Emmy Award-winning WTTG anchor Jim Lokay also responded to Senator Cruz, writing: “Trump’s own Department of Energy website recommends setting the AC at a range of 75-78 degrees.”
Indeed, on its website, the Department of Energy says: “The Department of Energy (DOE) and ENERGY STAR recommend finding a comfortable indoor temperature during the day and increasing it by 7°F when no one is home. Start with an indoor temperature between 75-78°F during the day.”
Critics slammed some of the Republicans’ responses — especially that of Sen. Cruz.
“You are the absolute LAST person to weigh in, Captain Cancun,” retired intelligence officer Travis Akers wrote.
“Your state’s electrical grid crashes if it gets too hot or cold, so I wouldn’t be throwing stones here,” said Democratic strategist Mike Nellis.
NYC SIZZLES 🥵: FOX Weather Senior Correspondent Robert Ray hits the scorching streets of New York City as an intense heat dome traps millions in life-threatening temperatures. New Yorkers are already feeling the burn: pic.twitter.com/HbMhU6L2P6
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) July 2, 2026
Image via Shutterstock
Video Shows Freedom 250 Rehearsal Turning ‘Incredibly Dangerous’ as Stage Falls Apart
Political Scientist Predicts Deal That Could Throw November Midterms Into Chaos
GOP Melts Down Over Mamdani’s Heat Wave Advice — Trump’s Energy Dept. Says the Same Thing
Nobel Economist Torches the Socialist Panic Republicans Keep Pushing
Underwater in Six Key States Trump to Blame if Democrats Win Back the Senate: CNN Analyst
News3 days agoVideo Shows Freedom 250 Rehearsal Turning ‘Incredibly Dangerous’ as Stage Falls Apart
News3 days agoPolitical Scientist Predicts Deal That Could Throw November Midterms Into Chaos
News3 days agoGOP Melts Down Over Mamdani’s Heat Wave Advice — Trump’s Energy Dept. Says the Same Thing
News3 days agoUnderwater in Six Key States Trump to Blame if Democrats Win Back the Senate: CNN Analyst
News3 days agoNobel Economist Torches the Socialist Panic Republicans Keep Pushing
