NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Donald Trump

tried to convince a judge on Monday that the insurer that

provided the former U.S. president with a $175 million bond in

his New York civil fraud case was empowered and strong enough to

issue the guarantee.

The bond issued by Knight Specialty Insurance is meant

to secure Trump's compliance with a $454.2 million judgment won

by state Attorney General Letitia James if he does not succeed

in an appeal.

Justice Arthur Engoron imposed the penalty after finding

that Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, fraudulently

inflated his net worth and real estate assets to deceive banks

and insurers into providing better terms.

James, a Democrat, challenged the bond this month, saying

Knight lacked a "certificate of qualification," and that Trump

still had access to the Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) account pledged to the

insurer as collateral.

Knight is owned by billionaire Trump supporter Don Hankey.

At a hearing, Trump's lawyer Christopher Kise assured

Engoron that Trump couldn't move money out of the account

without Knight's approval, and Schwab would not allow it. "We

have to put the money somewhere," Kise said.

Engoron, however, questioned the security of the collateral.

"You keep using the word agreement, what if they break the

agreement?" he asked. "It all seems like a house of cards."

Engoron is considering Trump's bond at the same time jurors

down the street are expected to hear opening arguments in

Trump's criminal hush money trial.

Trump defended the bond outside the courtroom at the

trial.

"We put up cash and the number is 175," Trump said. "She

shouldn't be complaining about the bonding company. The bonding

company would be good for it because I put up the money. I have

plenty of money to put up."

Knight has said it was authorized to issue the bond,

which is fully backed by cash in the Schwab account, and that it

could access nearly $2.2 billion of assets at its parent company

if something went wrong.

James said in court papers that a Trump-owned trust still

controls the account, and Knight's own financial arrangements

appear insufficient to cover the amount of the bond.

Hankey previously said in an interview that he charged Trump

a low fee as he did not anticipate problems.

"We thought it would be an easy procedure that wouldn't

involve other legal problems and it's not turning out that way,"

he said. "We probably didn't charge enough."

Hankey made his fortune in subprime car loans, with some

regulators criticizing his companies' debt collection tactics.

He is worth $7.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Trump was originally required to obtain a guarantee for the

entire verdict while he appeals, but a state appeals court let

him post a smaller bond.