Trump Aims to Prevent E. Jean Carroll from Receiving $5.8 Million Award
Trump requested that a federal judge prevent E. Jean Carroll from receiving a $5.8 million award while his appeal to the Supreme Court is ongoing.
US President Donald Trump has requested that a federal judge prevent writer E. Jean Carroll from receiving a damages award following a jury’s determination of his liability for sexually abusing and defaming her. He argues that the payment should be halted while he seeks to overturn the verdict at the US Supreme Court.
In a filing submitted to a federal court in Manhattan, Trump’s lawyers requested that the approximately $5.8 million award, including accrued interest, be kept in a court-supervised escrow account until the Supreme Court determines whether to reconsider the case. The 2023 verdict initially granted Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump’s legal team contended that disbursing the funds prior to the completion of the appeals process could result in irreparable damage if the Supreme Court subsequently decides to review the case. It has been reported that Carroll has expressed her intention to donate the money, which suggests that recovering the funds may be improbable if the judgment is eventually overturned.
The lawyers contended that permitting Carroll to receive the award prior to the conclusion of the legal process might erode public trust in the judicial system, while also emphasizing Trump’s assertion that the cases against him are driven by political motives.
Carroll’s legal team chose not to provide any remarks regarding the latest filing.
The Supreme Court chose not to consider Trump’s appeal in late June. Trump has subsequently requested the court to reevaluate that ruling. Court records later indicated that the renewed request was rejected, though no explanation was given. The contested funds are held in escrow as the legal proceedings are ongoing.
Carroll, who previously wrote an advice column for Elle magazine, alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan during the mid-1990s. Trump has consistently rejected the allegation, labeling it as a fabrication and asserting that he did not know Carroll.
In the 2023 civil trial, jurors determined that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, although they did not find him guilty of rape. The verdict led to the $5 million damages award, which is currently the focus of the latest court dispute.
In a different case ruled upon in January 2024, another jury mandated that Trump pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defamatory remarks he made during his tenure as US president. Trump is also attempting to reverse that judgment, contending that presidential immunity ought to protect him from liability.
Trump’s lawyers argue that a successful appeal in the broader defamation case could influence the legal foundation for the prior $5 million judgment. Carroll’s attorneys have accused Trump of making repeated appeals to postpone payment, asserting that the time has arrived for him to fulfill the court’s judgment.
