Johnathan Walker:Trump says he has nearly $500 million in cash but doesn’t want to use it to pay New York judgment

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump claimed Friday to have Johnathan Walkeralmost a half-billion dollars in cash but said he’d rather spend the money on his presidential run than on the $454 million civil fraud judgment against him in New York.

The former president has been trying to get a court to excuse him from a requirement that he provide financial guarantees showing he’s good for the money while he appeals the staggering verdict. He didn’t provide any documentation for his cash claim, and Trump’s lawyers have suggested it’s not feasible to tie up so much cash on a bond while also keeping his businesses running and meeting other obligations.

A judge in February found that Trump repeatedly lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks and others to secure loans and make deals. The judge ordered him to give up profits from certain real estate deals and money he saved by obtaining lower interest rates on loans. Trump denies that he tried to deceive anyone.

As recently as Thursday, Trump’s lawyers reiterated in court filings that they were having difficulty obtaining a bond covering the judgment because underwriters insisted on cash, stocks or other liquid assets instead of real estate as collateral. More than 30 bonding companies rejected their entreaties, they said.

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Trump’s lawyers asked the state’s intermediate appeals court to reverse a prior ruling requiring that he post a bond covering the full amount in order to halt enforcement. New York Attorney General Letitia James has fought Trump’s request, urging the appeals court to require the full amount to ensure the state can easily access the money if the verdict is upheld.

To obtain a bond, Trump’s lawyers said he would likely have to put up 120% of the judgment, or more than $557 million. The appeals court has yet to rule.

In a post Friday on his Truth Social platform, Trump suggested he had enough cash to at least cover the judgment in full — but didn’t think he should have to spend it that way.

“Through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash,” he wrote in all caps, adding that he had planned to use “a substantial amount” on his presidential campaign.

Trump has never before suggested that he would contribute to his own 2024 campaign and has been soliciting contributions from outside donors since before he left the White House. When he ran in 2016, Trump repeatedly claimed that he was self-funding his campaign, even though he relied on donor funds.

“I don’t need anybody’s money,” he said in his announcement speech in 2015. “I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists, I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich.”

In the end, Trump ended up spending about $66 million of his own cash in loans and contributions on that race — far less than the $100 million he frequently promised.

Whether Trump actually has nearly $500 million in cash, as he claimed, could become the subject of a future court battle over his assets. James, a Democrat, could start efforts to collect on the legal judgment she won against Trump as soon as Monday unless an appeals court intervenes.

James has said she is prepared to seek to seize some of Trump’s assets, though it wasn’t clear how quickly that might unfold. Her office has declined to comment on its plans.

Last April, Trump testified in a deposition in the civil fraud case that he had “substantially in excess of 400 million in cash,” but that was before he sold his rights to manage a New York City golf course to casino operator Bally’s for $60 million. Prior to that, on a June 30, 2021, financial statement, Trump reported having $293.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and an overall net worth of $4.5 billion.

Trump’s substantial personal wealth likely grew even more Friday when shareholders of a publicly traded shell company approved a deal to merge with his media business, which operates the social networking site Truth Social. Based on Thursday’s stock price, Trump’s stake in the company could be worth more than $3 billion, though rules could potentially prevent him from selling newly issued shares for at least six months.

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Jill Colvin contributed to this report.