After former President Trump was unable to secure a $464 million appeal bond relating to the New York civil fraud judgment, critics have called out the unprecedented nature of the ruling and warned against what it could mean for America’s future. O’Leary Ventures chairman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary criticized the penalty on “Outnumbered” Tuesday, characterizing the developments as “an attack on America.”
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KEVIN O’LEARY: I don’t think this a case about Trump at all anymore. I think people should be thinking about the policy being put in place here, the competitiveness of New York state versus other U.S. states, but more importantly, the message about the American brand. You think about America. The reason this is the number one economy on Earth is that we have laws, and we have due process, and we have property rights. It attracts foreign capital from all around the world. All of that is being shaken to the core here. The concept of seizing assets in 30 days on a bond number that’s never been issued – no insurance bond company has ever issued anything near this. So it was no chance it was going to happen and only giving 30 days notice in time – that’s a really bad message.
O’Leary Ventures chairman Kevin O’Leary issues a warning about a ‘big problem’ in the U.S. economy. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And I think New Yorkers should think well past Trump, whether he’s president or not, or whether this attorney general has gone in four years or not, it’s irrelevant. This is case-setting against the American brand. The most stable country on Earth, anywhere, to put capital to work over a long period of time, particularly in real estate, is the United States of America. This is an assault on what we believe to be core and I find it extraordinary. I think it’s very troubling. It has absolutely nothing to do with Donald Trump at this point, in my view. And it is completely bipartisan.
This is an attack on America and I don’t know how you can look at it any other way. And as an investor, and I know plenty of investors who are completely disturbed by this … but no one is going to put any money to work in New York in these amounts until this thing settles down. The whole world is watching and everybody’s waiting for one thing we haven’t got yet: adult supervision. Where is it? Where are the adults in this crazy narrative? Certainly there’s got to be adult supervision at some point. And I understand, you know, the war going on here and all the political yada-yada, woof-woof-woof. But we need an adult in the room now. This is the United States of America under siege.
Trump’s attorneys revealed he has not been able to secure a $464 million appeal bond he needs following a New York civil fraud judgment against him.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in a Monday court filing that obtaining the nearly half-a-billion appeal was a “practical impossibility under the circumstances presented.”
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David Gelman, a criminal defense attorney and a former deputy district attorney, called the judgment a “unicorn.” He argued that the judge should give Trump a lot more leeway to satisfy the bond because “not even the richest man in the world has $464 million lying around.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 06: AUGUST 06: New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference announcing a lawsuit to dissolve the NRA on August 06, 2020 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
A New York Appeals Court judge denied Trump’s request late last month to delay payment of the $464 million owed as a result of the lawsuit brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, but said he would temporarily allow the 2024 front-runner and his sons to continue running their business during the appeals process.
A New York Appeals Court judge previously ruled that the former president must post a bond for the full amount of the judgment and that an independent director of compliance will be appointed.
That ruling comes after New York Judge Arthur Engoron handed down his decision earlier in February after a months-long trial beginning in October in which the former president was accused of inflating his assets and committing fraud in financial documents.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.