President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday taking aim at states like New York by threatening to take away federal funds from states that have adopted “cashless bail” policies. But “cashless bail” is a meaningless phrase, and the executive order’s own parameters for bail policies would appear to largely exclude New York.

Bail is a monetary condition paid either through cash or bond, so there is no such thing as bail without money. The vague and inherently paradoxical nature of the term “cashless bail” has at times made it difficult to pin down how exactly Trump and other Republicans may target states that have limited or eliminated the use of bail.

“We don't have ‘cashless bail’ in the state of New York,” Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters on Tuesday. “(Trump) thinks we do, but

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