Letitia James slams Trump after appeals court lowers bond: 'Still being held accountable'

After news broke that an appeals court significantly lowered the bond that was leveled against him in his fraud trial, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement reminding people that Trump is nevertheless "still facing accountability for his staggering fraud."

"The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization. The $464 million judgment – plus interest – against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands," James said.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last month that Trump and his sons inflated the value of his properties and his own net worth in order to obtain more favorable bank transactions, ordering him to pay $454 million in penalties and interest and barring his companies from doing business in New York for two to three years.

His bond was set at 120 percent of that, or $545 million, and he was given until Monday to pay it.

On Monday, a New York appeals court lowered the bond amount to $175 million and gave him 10 more days to post it.

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Trump can appeal the ruling without forking over the bond or paying cash, but he must post a bond higher than the judgment against him to stop the collection of his assets.

Last week, Trump's lawyers said it would be impossible to post the bond amount, saying, "Despite scouring the market, we have been unsuccessful in our effort to obtain a bond for the Judgment Amount for Defendants for the simple reason that obtaining an appeal bond for $464 million is a practical impossibility under the circumstances presented."

“I greatly respect the decision of the appellate division and I’ll post the $175 million in cash or bonds or security or whatever is necessary very quickly within the 10 days, and I thank the appellate division for acting quickly,” Trump told the press after the ruling.