Donald Trump May Be ‘Beholden’ to People Behind Bond: Legal Analyst

After Donald Trump posted a bond of nearly $92 million on Friday as he appealed the jury’s verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s civil defamation case, legal analyst Andrew Weissmann warned on Sunday that the former president may be “beholden” to people behind the bond.

Trump, the likely GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential race, was ordered in January to pay $83.3 million to Carroll, a former Elle columnist, for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in those cases and said they were politically motivated.

The $91.6 million bond, which Trump posted on Friday, consisted of the $83.3 million judgment, along with statutory interest added by the State of New York. The bond was secured by the Federal Insurance Company, a part of insurance company Chubb Corporation. The bond has since sparked speculation over why the Federal Insurance Company decided to guarantee Trump’s bond and who within the company made the decision.

In an interview on Sunday on MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki, Weissmann, the former general counsel for the FBI who also served as lead prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign, discussed the former president’s civil judgements.

“This is an example of running not just as an outsider, but as an outlaw…The concern in these civil cases with these civil judgements is who is the candidate beholden to. Is he somebody who is going to be making policy and being differential to people who have put up money?” Weissmann asked.

He later added: “There is a simple way of looking at this, is that he has $450 million reasons to be differential if somebody else is putting up the money or co-signing…That issue of who is actually behind this is something that people who are voting should know.”

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email for comment.

The former president owes further payments in New York after a civil fraud trial judgment was imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron. Trump was recently fined roughly $355 million, plus interest, in his New York civil fraud case, which accused him, his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, The Trump Organization and two firm executives of fraudulently overvaluing assets to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, which was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, and also claimed it was politically motivated, vowing to appeal the verdict in that case as well.

Meanwhile, Chubb chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg has history with Trump, having been appointed in 2018 to his Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations during his presidency. The Washington Post recently reported it is “not clear from court records what collateral Trump presented to obtain the bond from Chubb.”

In a previous statement sent to Newsweek, Chubb said: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on client-specific information. Our surety division provides appeal bonds in the normal course of business. These bonds are an ordinary and important part of the American justice system, protecting the rights of both defendants and plaintiffs. This guaranty provides peace of mind as a plaintiff awaits finality in the appeals process. The surety receives full collateral from the defendant in exchange for issuing the bond,” Chubb said.

It added: “For plaintiffs, appeal bonds ensure that they will receive the damages when an award is confirmed on appeal, eliminating the need to chase a defendant for payment. This guaranty provides peace of mind as a plaintiff awaits finality in the appeals process. The surety receives full collateral from the defendant in exchange for issuing the bond.”