Why was it set to such a low amount? How could 200k prevent Trump from fleeing? Couldn’t it just as well have been set to 0?
His bail had to be customary and reasonable. Trump is a billionaire, so no amount could keep him here if he wanted to flee. Did they take his passport? They were supposed to I think.
It’s actually even worse (lower) than it seems. Trump is using a bail bondsman, which means he’s only putting down $20K. If he flees, it’s actually the bail bond company that is out the other $180K. In return, they change a pretty hefty interest – basically a “risk charge”.
It’s very odd that someone claiming to be as rich as Trump isn’t fronting the entire $200K, which should be easier for a putative billionaire than $200 would be for the rest of us.
It’s also strange that one of Trump’s many buddies isn’t putting up the bail for him.
Given the Don’s history of paying people back, I hope the bail bondsman can afford to lose the entire $200 large. Has Dog the Bounty Hunter retired?
I think the amount is in accordance with these other fools on the indictment - I think his is the biggest, so he now has something else to brag about. “Eastman’s is only $100,000 LOL - mine is MUCH BIGGER! Twice as large!”
He has the BEST bail. Everyone’s saying so.
He’s going nowhere. This is exploitable. He’ll raise millions on an outlay of $20,000. That’s how he got his money in the first place.
A billionaire could make 200k in a month or a week.
Is there anything in the agreement about not leaving the country???. Pulling his passport wouldn’t keep him from fleeing to Russia. Although F16s could.
Isn’t it pathetic that a billionaire is using a bail bond agency for a mere $200,000 bond? As I understand it, if he used his own money, he would get it back, eventually, but using the bond agency means that he never gets the $20,000 back. So if you can afford it, it’s cheaper to pay your own bond.
It is at least possible that the bond will be forfeited because breaks one of the conditions. Maybe he tries to intimidate a potential witness. If I were a bail bondsman, I wouldn’t touch this with a 10’ pole. In fact, that he didn’t put it up himself makes me suspect that he has no intention of observing the conditions. Maybe he is counting on the money he can raise if he actually goes to jail. But the $20,000 is gone.
Why would breaking a condition mean the bond is forfeited and the bondsman suffers?
The purpose of bail money is to motivate the criminal to not to flee, and if he shows up on time for his trial dates, he gets the money back.
I thought that if a criminal violates conditions of the bond, he gets re-arrested and sits in jail till the trial… Does he also lose the money? That’s news to me.
Bail is not intended as a punishment in itself. It is rather a way of securing a defendant’s agreement to abide by certain conditions and return to court. In that sense, bail is like collateral left with the court to ensure that, after the defendant’s release from jail, he or she will return for the remaining parts of the criminal case. If the defendant fails to appear or violates the conditions of the release, he or she might forfeit the amount paid. If the defendant posted a bond, the bail bond company forfeits the money, as discussed below.
I see that this post has been moved to IMHO, and it’s probably correct, but at the time of posting I actually thought there would be a single factual answer. Maybe some kind of principle I had missed.
Trump loves money and hates to spend a dime. He wouldn’t throw away 200k by fleeing.
I mean seriously. He’d rather be in prison with 200k than free and poor.
Oh you’re probably right. I don’t know the rules; I just assumed that breaking the bail conditions would forfeit the bail. If not, then the conditions are meaningless. What judge would dare throw TFG into jail for “ordering”, say Guiliani, not to testify against him?
In my state, at least, the bond is only forfeited if the defendant fails to appear. (Although the bail can be revoked for violation of the conditions of release).
My cursory and uninformed read of Georgia law (Georgia Code 17-6-70) suggest that the same is probably true there as well.
According to Forbes, Trump’s net worth is $2.5B. According to the Census Bureau, the median household net worth in 2021 was $166,900. As a guess (totally nonscientific) the household net worth today would be $200,000. (That’s probably too high a number, but let’s just go with it.)
So as a percent of net worth, Trump’s $200,000 bail would be the equivalent of $16 to the median household.
I have roughly 3x that in my wallet right now. It’s practically the definition of pocket change.
Can a state confiscate a passport?
Ahhh, simple error, the “B” stands for Baht, the currency in Thailand.
2.5 THB to USD
0,0711 US Dollar
My theory is, that’s the bondsman’s plan; make even more off the reality show revenues. “Where in the World is Donald Trump?” Every week, people tune in to see if they finally find him. It’s a whirl-wind tour of every wretched hive of scum and villainy in the world.