Trump says he would be forced to sell or mortgage his properties to post $454 million appeal bond

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be forced to sell or mortgage his properties to post the $454 million bond required to appeal the civil fraud judgment he faces in New York.

"Judge Engoron actually wants me to put up Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for the Right to Appeal his ridiculous decision," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Judge Arthur Engoron, who determined before the trial that Trump was responsible for inflating his wealth to receive better loan and insurance deals, had ordered the former president to pay $454 million in penalties. That full amount must be paid as a bond to appeal the judgment.

Trump offered last month to post a $100 million appeal bond instead, but Engoron denied the proposal.

In his Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump also accused Engoron of trying to take away his right to appeal. 

"Nobody has ever heard of anything like this before. I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he also wrote.

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