Donald Trump may be "beholden" to people behind bond: Legal analyst

After Donald Trump posted a bond of nearly $92 million on Friday as he appealed the jury's verdict in E. Jean Carroll's civil defamation case, legal analyst Andrew Weissmann warned on Sunday that the former president may be "beholden" to people behind the bond.

Trump, the likely GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential race, was ordered in January to pay $83.3 million to Carroll, a former Elle columnist, for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in those cases and said they were politically motivated.

The $91.6 million bond, which Trump posted on Friday, consisted of the $83.3 million judgment, along with statutory interest added by the State of New York. The bond was secured by the Federal Insurance Company, a part of insurance company Chubb Corporation. The bond has since sparked speculation over why the Federal Insurance Company decided to guarantee Trump's bond and who within the company made the decision.