WASHINGTON — President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Monday ending cashless bail by threatening to revoke federal funding for jurisdictions across the country, The Post has learned.
Attorney General Pam Bondi will provide Trump with a list of the no-cash-bail jurisdictions that could end up targeting states like New York, cities such as Washington, DC, or other localities with lax bail policies.
“Cashless bail policies allow dangerous individuals to immediately return to the streets and further endanger law-abiding, hard-working Americans because they know our laws will not be enforced,” a White House memo on the executive action states.
Arresting repeat offenders for new crimes after they’ve already been freed without bail is a “waste of public resources and obvious threat to public safety,” the memo also noted, citing instances of violent offenders being released onto the streets, only to be charged again.
On Aug. 11, the president called on Congress to tighten laws around cashless bail so criminals would not be cut loose without posting a cash bond before their trial.
The executive action also makes good on Trump’s campaign promise to “crack down on the left-wing jurisdictions that refuse to prosecute dangerous criminals and set loose violent felons on cashless bail.”
That effort began in earnest with the president’s mobilization of the National Guard in DC earlier this month, surging federal resources to assist local law enforcement in arresting suspects and seizing drugs in the nation’s capital.
Some state governments have reformed bail laws in favor of supervised pretrial release out of concern that posting cash disproportionately impacts poorer populations.
Illinois was the first to eliminate cash bail, followed by New Jersey, and New Mexico has already eliminated cash bail, though most states still have some form of bond in place for those charged with crimes.
New York scrapped the policy for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies in 2019 — and allowed judges to consider the offender’s financial situation when making bond determinations.
The highly controversial bond law has split Democrats in the Empire State, with Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams both criticizing its effects.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for mayor, had backed the law as governor, in addition to his socialist Democratic mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani.
Two convicted killers cuffed for dealing drugs in Greenwich Village earlier this month were both released without posting bond earlier this month.
Last October, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member was also freed without bail in the Big Apple after being charged with attempted homicide and was collared weeks later in a Miami drug bust — only to be let loose again.
One prolific pickpocket in the city has even racked up a whopping 45 busts as of January 2024 and was still moving through the revolving doors of justice.
“Every place in the country where you have no-cash bail is a disaster,” Trump told reporters earlier this month during his press briefing on tackling crime in Washington, DC.
The White House has pointed to a law enforcement study conducted in Yolo County, Calif., two years ago that determined a “zero bail” policy spiked crime by 163% in that jurisdiction.
Trump’s Department of Justice had already canceled more than 360 grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars in April for state entities and nonprofits that officials said were serving as a “slush fund” for left-wing causes rather than public safety.
“Under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, the Department of Justice is committed to ensuring its resources are spent on arresting criminals, getting drugs off the streets, and crucial litigation,” a spokesman said at the time.
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