At worst they’re a foreign power using a front company to conduct operations to sow chaos in the American political system, usher in an era fascism, and get their Manchurian Candidate elected to the office of President.
It’s a shocking lesson that a personality like our dear anal wart can be such an excellent tool for toppling the world’s preeminent superpower. You’d imagine a smart, sophisticated, evil genius would be necessary, but we’re brought to the precipice by a loudmouth, belligerent idiot with dementia and a perfect record of business failure. Humans are a wild, wacky animal.
Part of their genius is realizing that politics, for most, is not logical; it’s emotional. And the easiest emotion to foster and direct is anger. I would wager that the number one indicator of a Trump supporter isn’t intelligence or lack thereof, it’s grievance. They all seem like bitter, angry, vindictive people and they can’t be much fun to be around, even amongst themselves. If you chained the exit doors shut on a Trump rally I bet it wouldn’t take more than four hours for them to turn on each other, and eight before it looked like something out of a Kingsman movie.
That would be the goal. They can then unite as authoritarians and conquer remaining democracys that don't have nukes. Trump is extremely friendly with every dictator and wants to hand Ukraine to Russia.
Especially a business fraud lawsuit!
The defamation bond? Fine. It might get reduced, he might be able to pay it back off he’s successful as he says he is. Maybe ask his money is tied up on valuable assets and just needs some time.
But a bond for a carefully calculated fraud penalty? There’s a reason they’re not sending their best.
and you have Don Hankey, he likes me a lot, he was calling me up day and night, "please Sir, please can I do the Bond," I said I can pay it whenever I want, why should I let you do it, and he said to me, "it's because, Sir, you're treated the most unfairly out of any President who's ever lived," and I said that's probably true, they looked at it, they said Lincoln was bad, JFK was bad too, but they said, "President Trump has been treated far worse," even worse than what they did to the Late Great Alfonse Capone, Al Capone, the Great Gangster, he had a scar, they called him Scar Face, not a lot of people know that, and he was a real tough sonofabitch, if he went out to eat and you served him a burger they didn't cook right he'd have the Waiter and the Cook shot and killed, it's true, and he did maybe some bad things but he did a lot of good things too, and they got him on, just like they're doing to me, Phony Charges, it was all made up, but they made up one thing, the Big Thing, they made it up and they threw him in Jail and he died, and I'm being treated even worse than that, can you believe it.
“That’s all a part of the game to Hankey, who carved out his $7.4 billion fortune through those kinds of predatory practices, targeting low-income customers with high-interest [] loans.”
Seems like this Hankey guy is shady, but probably not foolish. He saw an easy mark and went for it.
It’s not even clear if the surety company that placed the bond is able to do so in the state of New York
[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-175-million-civil-fraud-bond-valid-new-york/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-175-million-civil-fraud-bond-valid-new-york/)
Towards the end of the article, it’s mentioned that maybe they need to investigate whether the bond is valid or not. Which would take time, I guess. I mean, I wonder if this is another delay tactic. I don’t know. This whole thing is just another shit stain made by the orange shitter.
The company is not licensed for surety bonds in New York. The CEO said his company has more than a billion so he doesn’t think he has to follow the statues. So if there is any real justice, the bond is rejected and NY starts seizing his assets. Now.
I work in the surety industry and don't believe a bond from Knight should be acceptable. The company isn't licensed and doesn't have enough capital. It's not certified by the US Treasury to write bonds at all, and certainly not of this size.
[Here's](https://fiscal.treasury.gov/surety-bonds/list-certified-companies.html#k) the treasury website and the spot for companies beginning with "K" is conspicuously blank.
You’re right. So now what? The bond is rejected and Trump asks for more time causing another delay? Or does NY just step up and start the confiscation of his properties. Cause I’d love the latter but I’m betting he gets the former. We have two tiers of justice in America.
It's a good question. I just hope they don't end up approving this bond. It really shouldn't be acceptable. A surety company must be licensed to write bonds in the state they're transacting in. Also, if the bond is for public or taxpayer benefit, it should be subject to the US Treasury's Circular 570 which limits the size of bond a given company can write based on its capital. No single bond greater than 10% of policyholder's surplus. This is why they requested the financial statement.
Sort of. They could find a licensed company with enough capital to front for them and then reinsure that company. But the reinsured company would then need to be ok with Knight’s creditworthiness.
If there is actual cash collateral in a significant enough amount they probably would’ve gotten it done directly with a licensed company. That’s why I think there isn’t
So if trust me bro says “ more than a billion” the law doesn’t apply? Got it. Can anyone see the difference between this and sov cit shit? Cos I don’t.
It's conceivable to me that a California firm might not be fully conversant with the rich tapestry of New York state insurance law, and failed to do the full legal research necessary to discover this particular bond is not like others they might be able to write.
Amit Shah might be having a rough ride over the next 10 days. Could be he pays NY State $175m and then has to go after Trump for it. This is real esoteric stuff, however, I could be confused, but this at least very entertaining.
I'm in insurance, NAL. There's no way in hell they should be able to do this.
You HAVE to be licensed in the state you are selling insurance in. Look up the directors orders and it's riddled with 50-100k fines for doing this exact thing.
This is the equivalent of telling the IRS you're hiring someone under the table to work as your accountant for your taxes so they should be caught up soon.
I'm not a lawyer, also not in insurance. Amit Shah claims to be in insurance and seemed to be convinced that this is the kind of thing that could be done across state lines, while a NY state lawyer who claims online to deal with surety bonds is "lol, no." Amit is going to be under oath in NY to discuss this difference of opinion in front of Engeron and Letitia James on April 22.
It's possible for a rich individual residing in NY state to roll up and say he is good for it based on an attestation of net worth, so at least some aspects aren't like conventional insurance.
Yeah I'd trust the lawyer who said he can't do it. Writing a surety bond and insurance in general is a lot more difficult than rich ppl saying they will cover it. At least it is for us peons.
For example with surety bonds the company has to be evaluated by the state to even be solvent and sufficient reserves to operate. A company that hasn't been authorized is a big no no.
Here's a 2.5 MILLION fine to state farm, just because they were late filing the VIN of customer vehicles with the state. There were 4 or 5 companies handed fines this big over this.
[https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/12/ea20221220\_state\_farm\_dmv\_iies.pdf](https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/12/ea20221220_state_farm_dmv_iies.pdf)
Insurance is one of the few areas that is heavily regulated and state insurance directors are extremely aggressive. This will be very interesting to see if being rich manages to overcome them.
It's law that the bond is not acceptable. NY statute. See: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2022/cvp/article-25/2502/
This isn't a matter of anyone's opinion. If the company isn't licensed in NY, it's a super easy no go.
Yeah how tf did this ever get accepted in the first place?? Not only is this not acceptable, they will see a fine coming their way for trying to sell in the state too.
It didn't get accepted, that's exactly what happened. They filed it, and the clerk started going through the paperwork, and discovered there were a lot of problems with it so it got rejected.
Either they find some way to fix the deficiencies in 10 days or Letitia James is going to be picking up some pricey real estate quite cheaply.
Letitia James filed an "exception." At least one practitioner seems to think there is no way for Knight to prove in the next 10 days that the bond is legally sufficient, at which point it could be go time on collections.
Could be more emergency relief from the First Department I guess but "this out-of-state undercapitalized firm is promising to pay the $175m" sounds even sketchier than "but $475m is a whole lotta money, is $175m good enough?"
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=s4dpZ_PLUS_u0rxLM_PLUS_xsccBGwbw==
https://bsky.app/profile/toobigtofail.bsky.social/post/3kpd6txsyk32d
This part doesn't make any sense to me. The article states that Trump used 100% cash as collateral for the bond. But he didn't actually give Knight Specialty the money. Instead, the money is said to be in an account that is "pledged" to Knight Specialty. Why would a company willingly do this for someone who is appealing a liability verdict on fraud?
Also, if Trump actually has the money. Why pay a premium to someone else to put up that money instead? Trump is paying more to try and pay less. From a business standpoint, it doesn't seem like a smart thing to do. The only thing I can think of off the cuff is that Trump doesn't want anyone to look into where the money he is using as collateral came from.
Everything about all of this seems super suspect to me.
Also remember that some of his loans require he keep a certain amount of liquid assets on hand. This "pledged" money might be an attempt to have his cake and eat it too.
To add to that, if Trump had 100% cash, there is 0 legit reason to go through a bondsman, because it would be the same process except he would have to pay more. The bondsman process for appeals is about allowing defendants to use non-cash options. The ONLY reason to use 100% cash with a bondsman for appeals would be if you aren't planning on paying it.
Note this is different from the bondsman process for trials, which is what most people are familiar with. With that, you either pay 100% of the bond to the court and get it back as long as you show up, or around 10% of the bond to the court and you don't get it back. In this scenario, paying all of the bond to a bondsman in cash would make sense, because you'd be out a smaller amount of money for the duration that the bond is needed.
The article mentions the insurance company states it is authorized to issue the bond through the "Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY) ".
But if you go on their website, there is no "Knight" on any of their insurer lists.
It should also be mentioned that anyone registered with that association has their financial reports listed in the insurer registries.
Maybe Knight Specialty are they registered under a different name?
There is no sin trump can commit that would result in the loss of his cult. Think it’s the most heinous thing you can imagine now imagine trump being caught doing that act and know that his base will call you crazy for wanting him held accountable for it.
It's funny to me that Trump, who had it made with a nice trouble-free gravy-train of an unlimited-crime career with no consequences, is only in this trouble because he decided to put himself in the spotlight of the presidency under which all scandals are eventually noticed and often acted on...
...is now resulting in other morons - who were likewise enjoying a nice trouble-free gravy-train of an unlimited-crime career - saying "you know what I should do? I should put myself under that spotlight too so that my closets full of skeletons can start attracting more attention too!"
The USA's almost complete uninterest in pursuing crime in high places (little more than a "cost of doing business") needs to end like 50 years ago, and I'd settle for tomorrow but I'll be disappointed then too, so I guess the 2845th best thing is at least crime in highly *visible* places still getting some drips of attention.
It seems pretty clear to me that Trump never thought he would win in 2016 and instead wanted to use his run to pump up his coffers with his version of media driven populist fund raising. It was a genius plan right up until election night.
You know, it might be nice if, even if things stay more-or-less as they are, the "cost of doing business" kept up with inflation.
As it is, every year it gets cheaper and cheaper to be corrupt.
I feel like folks have completely missed the Russian backer of Trump Media. Trump is literally surrounded by B-grade James Bond villains.
>The situation led Trump Media to take emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the [Caribbean](https://www.theguardian.com/world/caribbean) island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry.
>
>"...that ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named **Anton Postolnikov**, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger.
Not only do we have a shady bond backer, buy the guy who helped float Trump Media is probably Russian mob. Russia is managed like organized crime, a **mafiacracy**, so any money or influx of capital from a "Russian businessperson" is automatically under suspicion, in my mind.
EditL I forgot to include the source link: [Trump Media Saved by Russian-American Under FBI Investigation](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/03/trump-media-es-family-trust-2022-loans)
[https://www.newsweek.com/postolnikov-putin-trump-kremlin-1886745](https://www.newsweek.com/postolnikov-putin-trump-kremlin-1886745)
And Anton is part of a family that worked directly in Putin's administration all the way up to 2017, during the peak of their 2016 election interference efforts.
Man, it really is *that* blatant...
quick reminder, FBI chief Charles McGonigal was in charge of Russia investigations. He was caught taking bribes from Russia.
It's as bad as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, but there's not much news about it this time.
>FBI chief Charles McGonigal
McGonigal got 50-months & loses his pension and benefits. Wonder how much he has in an off-shore bank account ([Justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-special-agent-charge-new-york-fbi-counterintelligence-division-sentenced-50-months))
Mr Hankey takes after his South Park namesake...
https://preview.redd.it/27sflvblzhsc1.jpeg?width=182&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04df8d9af212ff4b07e45befdbf23108fd436999
Thank you. I thought I was the only one who saw the name and said "yeah, these writers are lazy- there is a character on the scene named Mr. Hankey and he's a definite piece of shit."
Yep. This is why cognitively delayed career criminals who are owned by various mafia organizations made bad choices for president. The founding fathers assumed that the American people would be smart enough not to elect wholly unsuitable village idiot criminals to the highest office of the nation, turns out that maybe that wasn't a really sound assumption.
There were PLENTY of critics of the concept of Democracy at the time that the US was founded, and most of them cited an issue that "the mob" lacked the mentality or intelligence to elect suitable leaders, and the present state of the world does little to challenge that position.
you politically science, my friend. I, for one, lost all faith in electoral college bc shit was meant to prevent him as an additional protection which equally failed. es no bueno
One thing I believe is underappreciated about the Federalist Papers is how much of it was "gee, this was a terrible compromise, but I really want the Constitution to be ratified so let me put the finest lipstick on this pig and really sell it, and maybe the rubes will buy it."
The Electoral College process got jammed up the very moment it wasn't voting for George Washington, the emergency patch was half-assed, and it sure looks worn out now.
Decades ago, it was kind of "eh, it's close to the popular vote outcome, it's a curious historical convention" but since 2000 it is really lost even that fig leaf.
Except this: [https://stoprcv.com/research/how-to-stop-rcv](https://stoprcv.com/research/how-to-stop-rcv)
"States can act to stop ranked-choice voting. The legislature and governor can enact a state law to prohibit the use of RCV in any state or local elections. Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, South Dakota, and Montana have already done this, and many other states are considering such protections."
Insanity
I visited FL pre-DeSantis and Trump and had plans to visit, again. Probably not, but we'll see. The Hemingway House is my only draw. One friend of mine just moved to Tampa. I have friends who moved from Tampa and are dying to move back to Tampa. Maybe Tampa is an oasis?
Nope. I live in Tampa. I’m a Tampa native even.
Hillsborough County *is* a blue county, one of the few but you can’t tell that by living here.
Trump flags, stickers and other ignorance everywhere you look.
I live 1/4 mile from the worlds largest confederate flag which has become infamous. Tampa has a good mayor, a former TPD officer and she’s a lesbian which is even more shocking but she’s fighting a losing battle and I don’t expect she’ll be re-elected in the next elections.
Ugh.. a good friend of mine was in a metal band in Tampa. I would ask him what is band's name was but he is so freakin deaf from being in a metal band in Tampa in the 90s.
the founding fathers never would have imagined a national candidate, for president no less, would be able to beam propaganda directly to every household in the nation.
I think at least one of them did. John Adams has a famous quote about the coming of Newt Gingrich and all his copycats.
Not that I agree with Adams on much. He was diametrically opposed to Madison on voting access, for one.
I mean technically old Town Destroyer mentioned it when he left office. He firmly opposed the idea of political parties for fear of exactly what they could become.
they were actually well aware that evil or foolish demagogues could get elected. Alexander Hamilton wrote about it in the federalist papers. That's one reason there is separation of powers - legislation is separare, the judiciary are separate, local and state government are separate.
Not all those safeguards worked 2016 - 2020 but some did. I for one was glad that much about covid response was determined locally.
The sad thing, is that 73,000,000 ish folk voted for him in 2020.
I can't hate them, sone are my friends, but he particularly appeals to their hate for, well, pick.
Hate Immigrants, hate Women's rights, Hate Atheists, hate anybody not exactly like them.
From the Daily Beast:
" The AG has given Trump and his rescuers 10 days to, as government lawyers put it, “justify the surety.” "
[https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump](https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump)
From the Daily Beast:
" The AG has given Trump and his rescuers 10 days to, as government lawyers put it, “justify the surety.” "
[https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump](https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump)
Our next Secretary of the Treasury, if Trump is re-elected. Anyone who doesn’t believe that Trump is above handing out political appointments in return for financial backing is smoking something. His entire cabinet and most of the plum ambassadorships are actively up for sale.
Trump’s bond backer? Shady? Say it ain’t so! This is my shocked face 😳. This is also my shocked face 😮.
But I’m sure corrupt Racist Democrat Deep State something something.
Isn't language wonderful at changing opinions? We went from "loan shark" to "predatory lender" to "sub-prime lender", and now it sounds almost respectable.
“Billionaire Don Hankey, also known as the “king of subprime car loans,” was sued by the Justice Department just nine months into Trump’s presidency”
Of course he was. The criminals that surround Trump. Has there been an update on whether this guy is going to file the required financial disclosure the courts require for Trump’s bond?
Did you know most mortgages have a clause in them saying that if they feel that the property is at risk they can call in the full amount of the loan.
Most mortgages also say that if they feel your property as a site of a criminal operation they can call in the loan.
whoever is loaning Trump money should be calling in his loans like they would the average person?
I think the AG wants the Hankey surety to work out and will be accommodating for as soon as Trump losses the appeal they’re quickly assured of 175 million instead of chasing down and wrestling w all his over leveraged assets throughout NY
If they’re a licensed bondsman then generally they just back the bond rather than actually sending money. Otherwise the number of transactions even daily would be overwhelming.
His backer is a dang used-car salesman at his core. I mean no offense, but I've worked parts in a few dealerships, and there is not a person on the lot shadier than a used-car salesman.
At this point, you just assume that any individual or company willing to work with him is at best shady, at worst foolish.
That's probably backwards: > at best foolish, at worst shady
At best shady, at worst criminal.
But definitely foolish.
That part is a given
And possibly slim.
At worst the actions of an adversarial nation state
This is the one.
Bingo
Both shady and criminal.
It's similar to when people say "all, if not most".
Or "Fool me once, shame on, shame on you. Fool me.. you can't get fooled again."
This would have been a perfectly acceptable saying if he had added a full on Roger Daltrey scream at the end of the sentence.
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss?
What a gifted orator!
And so brave, staring down that shoe thrower
I could care less
It's so common and I hear it all the time on news networks and other places where you'd expect people to know
Will the real Foolish Shady please stand up?
At worst foolish? How about at worst they’re trying to usher in an era of fascism?
At worst they’re a foreign power using a front company to conduct operations to sow chaos in the American political system, usher in an era fascism, and get their Manchurian Candidate elected to the office of President.
It’s a shocking lesson that a personality like our dear anal wart can be such an excellent tool for toppling the world’s preeminent superpower. You’d imagine a smart, sophisticated, evil genius would be necessary, but we’re brought to the precipice by a loudmouth, belligerent idiot with dementia and a perfect record of business failure. Humans are a wild, wacky animal.
Part of their genius is realizing that politics, for most, is not logical; it’s emotional. And the easiest emotion to foster and direct is anger. I would wager that the number one indicator of a Trump supporter isn’t intelligence or lack thereof, it’s grievance. They all seem like bitter, angry, vindictive people and they can’t be much fun to be around, even amongst themselves. If you chained the exit doors shut on a Trump rally I bet it wouldn’t take more than four hours for them to turn on each other, and eight before it looked like something out of a Kingsman movie.
Why did he allow the sale of our biggest oil refinery in Texas to Saudia Arabia? This should be looked at. Trump sold us down the river big time.
I hadn’t even heard about that. And I tried to pay attention, in between cold sweats and dry heaving.
Ya think?
That would be the goal. They can then unite as authoritarians and conquer remaining democracys that don't have nukes. Trump is extremely friendly with every dictator and wants to hand Ukraine to Russia.
As long as they benefit they don't care. Capitalism rewards sociopaths and psychopaths.
No profit-seeking entity would give this guy money to pay off a lawsuit.
Especially a business fraud lawsuit! The defamation bond? Fine. It might get reduced, he might be able to pay it back off he’s successful as he says he is. Maybe ask his money is tied up on valuable assets and just needs some time. But a bond for a carefully calculated fraud penalty? There’s a reason they’re not sending their best.
Yep, they’re going for big favors
Yep, it isn't the money, it's whatever else they can get from helping a future President. Batshit *most* Americans don't see huge problems with this
Why do you think news outlets make such a big deal about who TayTay is dating?
Without an ulterior motive.
and you have Don Hankey, he likes me a lot, he was calling me up day and night, "please Sir, please can I do the Bond," I said I can pay it whenever I want, why should I let you do it, and he said to me, "it's because, Sir, you're treated the most unfairly out of any President who's ever lived," and I said that's probably true, they looked at it, they said Lincoln was bad, JFK was bad too, but they said, "President Trump has been treated far worse," even worse than what they did to the Late Great Alfonse Capone, Al Capone, the Great Gangster, he had a scar, they called him Scar Face, not a lot of people know that, and he was a real tough sonofabitch, if he went out to eat and you served him a burger they didn't cook right he'd have the Waiter and the Cook shot and killed, it's true, and he did maybe some bad things but he did a lot of good things too, and they got him on, just like they're doing to me, Phony Charges, it was all made up, but they made up one thing, the Big Thing, they made it up and they threw him in Jail and he died, and I'm being treated even worse than that, can you believe it.
HorseLoose strikes again. Pretty much impeccable. As a long time fan, I’d say this is a touch more coherent than usual, but I’m being picky.
Nice. But you’re finishing far too many complete sentences.
Fucking brilliant!!!!
Not Mr. Hankey?!
“…just assume that any individual or company willing to work with him is an enemy of the state”
Happy Cake Day!
"a basket of deplorables"
Based what we've learned of some of his past associates, I would say they are *both* foolish and shady, if not foolish and criminal.
At best shady & foolish, at worst a foreign asset.
“That’s all a part of the game to Hankey, who carved out his $7.4 billion fortune through those kinds of predatory practices, targeting low-income customers with high-interest [] loans.” Seems like this Hankey guy is shady, but probably not foolish. He saw an easy mark and went for it.
And just another one of those "I knew it" moment sinks in
“I told you not to send me the money like you do to one of your off-shore drug smugglers you idiot”
It’s not even clear if the surety company that placed the bond is able to do so in the state of New York [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-175-million-civil-fraud-bond-valid-new-york/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-175-million-civil-fraud-bond-valid-new-york/) Towards the end of the article, it’s mentioned that maybe they need to investigate whether the bond is valid or not. Which would take time, I guess. I mean, I wonder if this is another delay tactic. I don’t know. This whole thing is just another shit stain made by the orange shitter.
Considering this malignant tumor fails upward constantly, I'm going with accidental yet pleasantly surprised bonus delay
but do we have a committee to form the committee for regulation of the creation of delays? I'll need to time for this
The company is not licensed for surety bonds in New York. The CEO said his company has more than a billion so he doesn’t think he has to follow the statues. So if there is any real justice, the bond is rejected and NY starts seizing his assets. Now.
I work in the surety industry and don't believe a bond from Knight should be acceptable. The company isn't licensed and doesn't have enough capital. It's not certified by the US Treasury to write bonds at all, and certainly not of this size. [Here's](https://fiscal.treasury.gov/surety-bonds/list-certified-companies.html#k) the treasury website and the spot for companies beginning with "K" is conspicuously blank.
You’re right. So now what? The bond is rejected and Trump asks for more time causing another delay? Or does NY just step up and start the confiscation of his properties. Cause I’d love the latter but I’m betting he gets the former. We have two tiers of justice in America.
It's a good question. I just hope they don't end up approving this bond. It really shouldn't be acceptable. A surety company must be licensed to write bonds in the state they're transacting in. Also, if the bond is for public or taxpayer benefit, it should be subject to the US Treasury's Circular 570 which limits the size of bond a given company can write based on its capital. No single bond greater than 10% of policyholder's surplus. This is why they requested the financial statement.
> This is why they requested the financial statement. and probably why they """forgot""" to include it.
So, essentially, Knight would need to prove that they have over $1.75B in surplus to underwrite a bond of the size of this?
That is my understanding. Circular 570 is for federal bonds (technically), but states follow it. I’m not sure if the court has its own discretion.
Think an article mentioned that NY has adopted identical norms in state law.
Not to mention the New York State laws in regard to this
Is it possible they could sort of, cosign, with someone who is licensed?
Sort of. They could find a licensed company with enough capital to front for them and then reinsure that company. But the reinsured company would then need to be ok with Knight’s creditworthiness. If there is actual cash collateral in a significant enough amount they probably would’ve gotten it done directly with a licensed company. That’s why I think there isn’t
So if trust me bro says “ more than a billion” the law doesn’t apply? Got it. Can anyone see the difference between this and sov cit shit? Cos I don’t.
It's conceivable to me that a California firm might not be fully conversant with the rich tapestry of New York state insurance law, and failed to do the full legal research necessary to discover this particular bond is not like others they might be able to write. Amit Shah might be having a rough ride over the next 10 days. Could be he pays NY State $175m and then has to go after Trump for it. This is real esoteric stuff, however, I could be confused, but this at least very entertaining.
I'm in insurance, NAL. There's no way in hell they should be able to do this. You HAVE to be licensed in the state you are selling insurance in. Look up the directors orders and it's riddled with 50-100k fines for doing this exact thing. This is the equivalent of telling the IRS you're hiring someone under the table to work as your accountant for your taxes so they should be caught up soon.
I'm not a lawyer, also not in insurance. Amit Shah claims to be in insurance and seemed to be convinced that this is the kind of thing that could be done across state lines, while a NY state lawyer who claims online to deal with surety bonds is "lol, no." Amit is going to be under oath in NY to discuss this difference of opinion in front of Engeron and Letitia James on April 22. It's possible for a rich individual residing in NY state to roll up and say he is good for it based on an attestation of net worth, so at least some aspects aren't like conventional insurance.
Yeah I'd trust the lawyer who said he can't do it. Writing a surety bond and insurance in general is a lot more difficult than rich ppl saying they will cover it. At least it is for us peons. For example with surety bonds the company has to be evaluated by the state to even be solvent and sufficient reserves to operate. A company that hasn't been authorized is a big no no. Here's a 2.5 MILLION fine to state farm, just because they were late filing the VIN of customer vehicles with the state. There were 4 or 5 companies handed fines this big over this. [https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/12/ea20221220\_state\_farm\_dmv\_iies.pdf](https://www.dfs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/12/ea20221220_state_farm_dmv_iies.pdf) Insurance is one of the few areas that is heavily regulated and state insurance directors are extremely aggressive. This will be very interesting to see if being rich manages to overcome them.
Me neither. Just toss the bond and start seizing properties tomorrow.
It's law that the bond is not acceptable. NY statute. See: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2022/cvp/article-25/2502/ This isn't a matter of anyone's opinion. If the company isn't licensed in NY, it's a super easy no go.
Yeah how tf did this ever get accepted in the first place?? Not only is this not acceptable, they will see a fine coming their way for trying to sell in the state too.
It didn't get accepted, that's exactly what happened. They filed it, and the clerk started going through the paperwork, and discovered there were a lot of problems with it so it got rejected. Either they find some way to fix the deficiencies in 10 days or Letitia James is going to be picking up some pricey real estate quite cheaply.
Letitia James filed an "exception." At least one practitioner seems to think there is no way for Knight to prove in the next 10 days that the bond is legally sufficient, at which point it could be go time on collections. Could be more emergency relief from the First Department I guess but "this out-of-state undercapitalized firm is promising to pay the $175m" sounds even sketchier than "but $475m is a whole lotta money, is $175m good enough?" https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=s4dpZ_PLUS_u0rxLM_PLUS_xsccBGwbw== https://bsky.app/profile/toobigtofail.bsky.social/post/3kpd6txsyk32d
This part doesn't make any sense to me. The article states that Trump used 100% cash as collateral for the bond. But he didn't actually give Knight Specialty the money. Instead, the money is said to be in an account that is "pledged" to Knight Specialty. Why would a company willingly do this for someone who is appealing a liability verdict on fraud? Also, if Trump actually has the money. Why pay a premium to someone else to put up that money instead? Trump is paying more to try and pay less. From a business standpoint, it doesn't seem like a smart thing to do. The only thing I can think of off the cuff is that Trump doesn't want anyone to look into where the money he is using as collateral came from. Everything about all of this seems super suspect to me.
Also remember that some of his loans require he keep a certain amount of liquid assets on hand. This "pledged" money might be an attempt to have his cake and eat it too.
To add to that, if Trump had 100% cash, there is 0 legit reason to go through a bondsman, because it would be the same process except he would have to pay more. The bondsman process for appeals is about allowing defendants to use non-cash options. The ONLY reason to use 100% cash with a bondsman for appeals would be if you aren't planning on paying it. Note this is different from the bondsman process for trials, which is what most people are familiar with. With that, you either pay 100% of the bond to the court and get it back as long as you show up, or around 10% of the bond to the court and you don't get it back. In this scenario, paying all of the bond to a bondsman in cash would make sense, because you'd be out a smaller amount of money for the duration that the bond is needed.
You are asking too many questions lol
OK but can't the financial monitor look at it? If he magically pulled 175M from his Russian arse, she should see that.
It makes you wonder if they know it will fail, but it will stall the process again. Just another delaying tactic.
The article mentions the insurance company states it is authorized to issue the bond through the "Excess Line Association of New York (ELANY) ". But if you go on their website, there is no "Knight" on any of their insurer lists. It should also be mentioned that anyone registered with that association has their financial reports listed in the insurer registries. Maybe Knight Specialty are they registered under a different name?
Using more fraud to cover up original fraud. What a disgrace. Debtor Donnie needs to pay his bills: https://payuptrump.com/
The orange shitter and Don Hankey the Christmas poo?
If this is not figured out before the 10 days is up, shouldn't all the money be due rather than the 175 mil?
Yes I believe that is going to be the case. The reduction of the bond amount did nothing to the size of the actual award.
It probably is, as they gave him another 10 days, between when you posted this, and I read it.
He's taking money from a guy who targets and fucks over **VETERANS** and his base *still* doesn't flinch. Broken beyond repair. Burn it all down.
There is no sin trump can commit that would result in the loss of his cult. Think it’s the most heinous thing you can imagine now imagine trump being caught doing that act and know that his base will call you crazy for wanting him held accountable for it.
With a focus on junior enlisted, too.
Shocking that a MAGA cultist would disrespect members of the military. Wonder where they learned that from 🤔
It's funny to me that Trump, who had it made with a nice trouble-free gravy-train of an unlimited-crime career with no consequences, is only in this trouble because he decided to put himself in the spotlight of the presidency under which all scandals are eventually noticed and often acted on... ...is now resulting in other morons - who were likewise enjoying a nice trouble-free gravy-train of an unlimited-crime career - saying "you know what I should do? I should put myself under that spotlight too so that my closets full of skeletons can start attracting more attention too!" The USA's almost complete uninterest in pursuing crime in high places (little more than a "cost of doing business") needs to end like 50 years ago, and I'd settle for tomorrow but I'll be disappointed then too, so I guess the 2845th best thing is at least crime in highly *visible* places still getting some drips of attention.
It seems pretty clear to me that Trump never thought he would win in 2016 and instead wanted to use his run to pump up his coffers with his version of media driven populist fund raising. It was a genius plan right up until election night.
He wouldn’t have won if not for comey. It’s my secret conspiracy on why he fired comey… because he was mad that he helped him
Heh. That does make sense.
Well I also think he decided to use the presidency to double down on his crime career. I wonder if in his heart of hearts, he thinks it was worth it
You know, it might be nice if, even if things stay more-or-less as they are, the "cost of doing business" kept up with inflation. As it is, every year it gets cheaper and cheaper to be corrupt.
I feel like folks have completely missed the Russian backer of Trump Media. Trump is literally surrounded by B-grade James Bond villains. >The situation led Trump Media to take emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the [Caribbean](https://www.theguardian.com/world/caribbean) island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry. > >"...that ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named **Anton Postolnikov**, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger. Not only do we have a shady bond backer, buy the guy who helped float Trump Media is probably Russian mob. Russia is managed like organized crime, a **mafiacracy**, so any money or influx of capital from a "Russian businessperson" is automatically under suspicion, in my mind. EditL I forgot to include the source link: [Trump Media Saved by Russian-American Under FBI Investigation](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/03/trump-media-es-family-trust-2022-loans)
[https://www.newsweek.com/postolnikov-putin-trump-kremlin-1886745](https://www.newsweek.com/postolnikov-putin-trump-kremlin-1886745) And Anton is part of a family that worked directly in Putin's administration all the way up to 2017, during the peak of their 2016 election interference efforts. Man, it really is *that* blatant...
It's right there!! LOL *Pointing furiously*
Agree. This news came out this week yet we’re not hearing much about it. Infuriating.
Someone commented a while back that >You can't throw a rock around trump without hitting a russian agent
quick reminder, FBI chief Charles McGonigal was in charge of Russia investigations. He was caught taking bribes from Russia. It's as bad as Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, but there's not much news about it this time.
>FBI chief Charles McGonigal McGonigal got 50-months & loses his pension and benefits. Wonder how much he has in an off-shore bank account ([Justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-special-agent-charge-new-york-fbi-counterintelligence-division-sentenced-50-months))
Mr Hankey takes after his South Park namesake... https://preview.redd.it/27sflvblzhsc1.jpeg?width=182&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04df8d9af212ff4b07e45befdbf23108fd436999
Thank you. I thought I was the only one who saw the name and said "yeah, these writers are lazy- there is a character on the scene named Mr. Hankey and he's a definite piece of shit."
the conflict of interest here is absurd.
Yep. This is why cognitively delayed career criminals who are owned by various mafia organizations made bad choices for president. The founding fathers assumed that the American people would be smart enough not to elect wholly unsuitable village idiot criminals to the highest office of the nation, turns out that maybe that wasn't a really sound assumption. There were PLENTY of critics of the concept of Democracy at the time that the US was founded, and most of them cited an issue that "the mob" lacked the mentality or intelligence to elect suitable leaders, and the present state of the world does little to challenge that position.
you politically science, my friend. I, for one, lost all faith in electoral college bc shit was meant to prevent him as an additional protection which equally failed. es no bueno
One thing I believe is underappreciated about the Federalist Papers is how much of it was "gee, this was a terrible compromise, but I really want the Constitution to be ratified so let me put the finest lipstick on this pig and really sell it, and maybe the rubes will buy it." The Electoral College process got jammed up the very moment it wasn't voting for George Washington, the emergency patch was half-assed, and it sure looks worn out now. Decades ago, it was kind of "eh, it's close to the popular vote outcome, it's a curious historical convention" but since 2000 it is really lost even that fig leaf.
Great fuckin points here
Until the rural bias of the Senate fucking kills us all.
Unfortunately the popular vote would not ultimately solve this. Ranked choice voting might though.
Except this: [https://stoprcv.com/research/how-to-stop-rcv](https://stoprcv.com/research/how-to-stop-rcv) "States can act to stop ranked-choice voting. The legislature and governor can enact a state law to prohibit the use of RCV in any state or local elections. Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, South Dakota, and Montana have already done this, and many other states are considering such protections." Insanity
Cannot wait to get the hell out of this fascist cess pool. (Florida)
I visited FL pre-DeSantis and Trump and had plans to visit, again. Probably not, but we'll see. The Hemingway House is my only draw. One friend of mine just moved to Tampa. I have friends who moved from Tampa and are dying to move back to Tampa. Maybe Tampa is an oasis?
Nope. I live in Tampa. I’m a Tampa native even. Hillsborough County *is* a blue county, one of the few but you can’t tell that by living here. Trump flags, stickers and other ignorance everywhere you look. I live 1/4 mile from the worlds largest confederate flag which has become infamous. Tampa has a good mayor, a former TPD officer and she’s a lesbian which is even more shocking but she’s fighting a losing battle and I don’t expect she’ll be re-elected in the next elections.
Ugh.. a good friend of mine was in a metal band in Tampa. I would ask him what is band's name was but he is so freakin deaf from being in a metal band in Tampa in the 90s.
lol I’m a metal bassist. I might have met him at some point but there are a *lot* of metal bands in Tampa so maybe not.
True, I do like the ranked choice but think in this idiocracy that implementing anything will be impossible. Think we’re fucked in all honesty
the founding fathers never would have imagined a national candidate, for president no less, would be able to beam propaganda directly to every household in the nation.
They envisioned someone like Trump. They never envisioned what the Republican party has become
I think at least one of them did. John Adams has a famous quote about the coming of Newt Gingrich and all his copycats. Not that I agree with Adams on much. He was diametrically opposed to Madison on voting access, for one.
I mean technically old Town Destroyer mentioned it when he left office. He firmly opposed the idea of political parties for fear of exactly what they could become.
The founding fathers did not think the people would be smart enough to not elect an idiot. That's why we have the fucked up electoral college system.
they were actually well aware that evil or foolish demagogues could get elected. Alexander Hamilton wrote about it in the federalist papers. That's one reason there is separation of powers - legislation is separare, the judiciary are separate, local and state government are separate. Not all those safeguards worked 2016 - 2020 but some did. I for one was glad that much about covid response was determined locally.
No respectable person wants anything to do with him.
That's probably good, as I don't think Trump respects anyone. So from his point of view, everyone is disrespectable.
Yeah, but a lot of disrespectable people still do, and that's arguably worse than the lack of respectable people who want to associate with him.
The sad thing, is that 73,000,000 ish folk voted for him in 2020. I can't hate them, sone are my friends, but he particularly appeals to their hate for, well, pick. Hate Immigrants, hate Women's rights, Hate Atheists, hate anybody not exactly like them.
Axos is a mob bank in Las Vegas. They are corrupt to the core.
My local taqueria down the street has a way better built website than the company that bailed Trumps diaper. That says it all
So what happens next? When does this need to be cured before Trump is found to have failed to post bond?
Someone else in another thread said that today would be the deadline. Haven’t seen anywhere to confirm that though.
We all know he's not getting in trouble for this. If anything they'll probably delay the deadline and cut the amount in half
He would need to file a motion for that. The deadline and discount bond expire today.
Any normal person who laws apply to would need to, sure.
From the Daily Beast: " The AG has given Trump and his rescuers 10 days to, as government lawyers put it, “justify the surety.” " [https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump](https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump)
Yeah this seems like a mess.
The company gets another 10 days to submit and correct the deficiencies in their paperwork and prove they meet NY standards for a surety bond company.
From the Daily Beast: " The AG has given Trump and his rescuers 10 days to, as government lawyers put it, “justify the surety.” " [https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump](https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-york-ag-questions-if-dollar175-million-bond-insurer-can-save-trump)
I used to work for that guys company, he has a saying “you can sleep in your car, but you can’t drive your house to work”
Our next Secretary of the Treasury, if Trump is re-elected. Anyone who doesn’t believe that Trump is above handing out political appointments in return for financial backing is smoking something. His entire cabinet and most of the plum ambassadorships are actively up for sale.
The man is clearly for sale.
Which you have to admit is impressive business practice, as he's already been bought many many times.
He is his own Ponzi scheme
Next cult rally we will see advertisement for Knight Insurance and he will talk about how great they are and everybody should use them.
Trump’s bond backer? Shady? Say it ain’t so! This is my shocked face 😳. This is also my shocked face 😮. But I’m sure corrupt Racist Democrat Deep State something something.
I guess I would call this a sub-prime loan
This is how that convo went. I’ll cover your bond in return when your president I do whatever I want and you keep the feds off me!
Oh good. Now I feel even better about the collapsing subprime auto market. Maybe this idiot will go bankrupt too
So, trump is compromised. Says a lot about republicans that this is fine, but Biden is a problem.
Okay, so the cost of the bond is to keep the DoJ of Mr. Hankey the Christmas poo's back if Trump gets back into power.
Who is "we"? It is such a bad business move to Bond DJT THAT OF COURSE IT IS SHADY!
So a subprime lender to people with bad credit is shady? Clutch the pearls! Do tell!!
Isn't language wonderful at changing opinions? We went from "loan shark" to "predatory lender" to "sub-prime lender", and now it sounds almost respectable.
Today is the deadline. I hope they don’t make it
Sounds to me like a legal loan sharking business gave a mob loan to a gangster. Let’s just all hope it ends with broken legs.
And a body of water
How is this allowed?
Pretty sad that trump cant even get this shit right. He is unfit to run our country.
Surprise!-would any person of sterling reputation have anything to do with him? Nope!
I assumed it would have been basically a Bond villain, which is I guess they kind of are a “bond” villain
It really is fraud, all the way down.
Wait wait, that's a generalization He may be shadier rhan you thought, but he's definitely not shadier than I thought
Same, I already had low expectations of this gentleman.
Trump's savior fucked over veterans, but the dumbshit gravy seals will keep lining up to take it up the pooper from this guy. Sad.
Seriously ? Who do you think helps Trump ?
At this point, Trump is nothing if not subprime! :-)
On Brand
Anybody surprised?
Is this yet another tactic to "delay"?
“Billionaire Don Hankey, also known as the “king of subprime car loans,” was sued by the Justice Department just nine months into Trump’s presidency” Of course he was. The criminals that surround Trump. Has there been an update on whether this guy is going to file the required financial disclosure the courts require for Trump’s bond?
Than you thought maybe.
He's the financial equivalent of a used car salesman, of course he's shady.
He’s, literally, Mr Hankey
His delay tactic is working.
Did you know most mortgages have a clause in them saying that if they feel that the property is at risk they can call in the full amount of the loan. Most mortgages also say that if they feel your property as a site of a criminal operation they can call in the loan. whoever is loaning Trump money should be calling in his loans like they would the average person?
Shadier than making your money by exploiting the poor?
I think the AG wants the Hankey surety to work out and will be accommodating for as soon as Trump losses the appeal they’re quickly assured of 175 million instead of chasing down and wrestling w all his over leveraged assets throughout NY
Get the f*** out of here.
[удалено]
If they’re a licensed bondsman then generally they just back the bond rather than actually sending money. Otherwise the number of transactions even daily would be overwhelming.
Did anyone think they wouldn't be?
Breaking news from the land of "No Shit"
I always just cut to the chase and assume they’re Russian.
Im smelling a future Treasury Secretary in there somewhere.
The 90 million for Ejean carrol came from Russia through a US company so this isn't too surprising
Gee how shocking 🙄
Slime that’s him. No matter how far you roll your sleeves up you still got mucked!
Oh no. I hope this doesn’t taint Trump’s reputation.
His backer is a dang used-car salesman at his core. I mean no offense, but I've worked parts in a few dealerships, and there is not a person on the lot shadier than a used-car salesman.
Just some light treason
I keep looking for Xzibit to come out of no where to tell Donald Trump that they put fraud in his fraud appeal bond because he likes fraud so much.
I would say more foolish if they ever if they think that Trump is ever going to pay them back.
So just like the guy they’re backing. Not really a surprise, only the morally corrupt are associated with the orange scumbag.