Trump falsely suggests he won fraud case on appeal after bond amount slashed

After notching a legal victory Monday, Donald Trump repeated his false claim that a New York appeals court had already decided a civil fraud lawsuit in his favor.

An appeals court reduced the amount of the bond he must pay to stave off enforcement of a judgment in the case from $545 million — 120 percent of the $454 million judgment against him — to $175 million, and gave him 10 more days to come up with the money.

Trump responded by falsely asserting he had won the case on appeal.

"Judge [Arthur] Engoron has refused to obey the decision of the Appellate Division relative to the Statute of Limitations," Trump posted on Truth Social. "This is a confrontation between a Judge and those that rule above him - A very bad situation in which to place New York State and the Rule of Law!"

"Engoron has disrespected the Appellate Division and its very clear and precise ruling," Trump added. "He should be made to do so, and at the same time, release the GAG ORDER. This is the 5th time in this case that he has been overturned, a record. His credibility, and that of Letitia James, has been shattered. We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash. This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous Engoron’s original decision was at $450 Million. I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!"

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Trump has claimed since the start of his fraud trial that an appeals court had thrown out much of the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, but that ruling in October limited the scope of the case to financial transactions completed before 2014 for some defendants bound by a tolling agreement and before 2016 for others.

The appeals court also gave Engoron latitude to decide which defendants fall under the tolling agreement, which suspends the statute of limitations for a certain amount of time, but did not dismiss the case altogether.

The appellate court has not yet ruled on the judge's pretrial ruling finding Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud but did not pause the trial while that claim was considered.