(NationalUSNews.com) — Don Hankey, billionaire chairman of Knight Specialty Insurance Co., has said that since his company agreed to supply the $175 million bond required by former President Trump in his New York civil fraud trial, they have been facing intense scrutiny from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office and other officials. He commented that perhaps this is why other insurance companies were reluctant to work with Trump. A New York court rejected Knight Specialty’s paperwork and has requested more information on the company’s financial backing. They submitted new paperwork as of Thursday, April 4.
If the former president does not post the $175 million bond, which was reduced from the original $454 million demanded in February, New York Attorney General Letitia James is prepared to begin the proceedings to seize Trump’s assets which could include his real estate holdings. While the paperwork was initially rejected for missing current financial statements, Attorney General James has since raised concerns regarding the sufficiency of the bond and claimed that Knight Specialty is not admitted in New York, making it ineligible to obtain a certificate of qualification from the Department of Financial Services.
Due to the questions about Knight Specialty, they or Trump need to prove that they can cover the entire $175 million. Lawyer Dave Kingman commented on the social media platform X that he didn’t think Knight Specialty could do that, adding that if they were unable to be approved, they would still be liable for the amount and Trump would still be required to find a replacement bond. He expressed some doubt that former president Trump could find such a replacement, and Hankey’s comment about the barrage of phone calls and emails his company have been receiving since they agreed to the bond would seem to back that up.
However, AM Best, an American credit rating agency specializing in the insurance industry, has previously upgraded Knight Specialty’s financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from an earlier rating of B++ (Good) including a statement praising the company’s balance sheet strength. Knight Specialty’s Chairman Hankey has responded to doubts raised on social media about their ability to cover the bond saying that his company will be able to post the money. Some have criticized the entire situation as one likely to discourage business investment in New York.
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