NY state asks court not to let Trump forgo $454M bond during fraud case appeal

NEW YORK (AP) — New York state lawyers urged an appeals court Wednesday not to buy former President Donald Trump's claims that it's impossible to post a bond fully covering a $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals.

The presumptive Republican nominee's lawyers said earlier this week that he couldn't find an underwriter willing to take on the entire amount. But the state is arguing that Trump and his co-defendants didn't explore every option.

The “defendants fail to propose a serious alternative to fully secure the judgment," Dennis Fan, a lawyer in the state attorney general's office, wrote in papers sent to the appeals court.

He suggested those alternatives could include dividing the total among multiple bonds from different underwriters — or letting a court hold some of Trump's real estate while he appeals. He's challenging a judge's ruling last month that he, his company and key executives inflated his wealth on financial statements that were used to get loans and insurance.