Donald Trump reportedly used a bail bondsman after being arrested at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, paying $20,000 of his bond set at $200,000 and taking out a loan for the rest of it. The fact that the former president resorted to such a measure has sparked questions on social media about the state of his finances.
Why pay $200k when you can pay $20k and then refuse to repay the other $180k?
Because if you pay the $200k you get it back when the case is over. The $20k is gone forever.
That’s assuming the judge doesn’t decide you’ve violated the bond conditions forfeit the bond. If that happens, the bondsman’s going to go after you for the full $200k in addition to what you paid though, and you still wind up $20k poorer than if you put up the full amount in the first place.
What probably happened is that he plans to use his usual delaying tactics and run the case out for several years, so his accountants decided they could earn at least 11% on the remaining $180k by the time the case is up, making it cheaper to pay the $20k up front.
That or he’s using his other favorite tactic and found a bondsman that’s on the verge of going bankrupt and he’s planning to stiff him and betting the guy won’t have enough money to take him to court over it. That said, he could also be in financial trouble. It’s been well known for a long time now that Trump pretends like his finances are MUCH better than they actually are, with him regularly bleeding money on failed ventures. There’s a reason he’s basically been running grifts for decades and just slapping his name on successful things run by other people instead of his own businesses. He was probably counting on using campaign funds and donations to cover his legal costs and got told he couldn’t, and his usual sugar daddies aren’t willing to pour money into him considering how unlikely he is to beat the current slate of charges.
It’s also interesting that he recently “sold” Mar-A-Lago, although since he “sold” it to his son the move is more likely just to protect the property if he does end up in jail. Could also be to provide him some liquidity to cover his legal costs.
He’s got 24/7 secret service protection just like every former president. I don’t think there’s any way he can actually flee unless he can flat out refuse secret service protection, which I’m sure he already knows is a significant risk to his personal security so he probably won’t.
Honestly I strongly suspect he’s going to try to drag out every charge for as long as possible, use every legal and illegal tactic he can to avoid actually being sentenced to more than a fine, then if he ever sees actual jail time he’ll commit suicide. I can’t see him pulling a Skreli and doing a few months with his head low before getting out on good behavior
I think there’s logistical issues with paying your own bail in full. Like, the court has limited hours and may not accept wire transfers. It could be days before they can clear that kind of money and you’re in jail until that time. The bondsmen already have all that ready to go with the courts so they can do it instantly.
