Judge won't let Trump delay E. Jean Carroll penalties, leaving him with days to cover $83M judgment
A New York judge on Thursday denied Donald Trump's request for a temporary delay of the penalties in E. Jean Carroll's defamation case, leaving the former president three days to pay or post a bond for the entire $83.3 million judgment.
Judge Lewis Kaplan signaled he is still considering Trump's request for a reduced bond or a delay until the resolution of his post-trial motions.
"Mr. Trump's current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions," Kaplan wrote in his order late Thursday. "He has had since January 26 to organize his finances with the knowledge that he might need to bond this judgment, yet he waited until 25 days after the jury verdict ... to file his prior motion for an unsecured or partially secured stay pending resolution of post-trial motions."
Kaplan said that Trump failed to show how the judgment constitutes an "irreparable injury" or demonstrate the expenses he faces by posting a bond in the case.
"The expense of ongoing litigation in the absence of a stay does not constitute 'irreparable injury' in the relevant sense of that term," Kaplan wrote.
Responding to the ruling, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, "President Trump filed a timely motion to stay the ridiculous judgment, and many courts, including the Second Circuit, recognize the importance of temporary administrative stays while such motions are considered. We look forward to continuing to litigate the case and to complete vindication of the truth."
Judge Kaplan's decision follows a whirlwind month for the former president, whose lawyers have made a concerted push to delay the half a billion dollars in various judgments owed by Trump.
In January, a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages after determining that Trump defamed her while denying her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. Trump's lawyers had argued that the case was wrongly decided, and that covering the $83.3 million would cause the former president "irreparable injury in the form of substantial costs."
Lawyers for Carroll pushed back against the delay, arguing that Trump failed to offer critical information about his own finances to justify the delay.
"The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than 'trust me,'" Carroll's attorneys wrote. "He doesn't offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesn't specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting."
In a separate civil case, a New York judge last month ordered that Trump pay back $454,156,783 in disgorgement plus pre-judgment interest for a decade of fraudulent business practices. Trump, through his attorneys, similarly argued that the decision was flawed, requested a delay, and offered to pay a $100 million bond. Trump's lawyers said that, if the court did not grant a stay, the former president might have to sell some of his properties to raise enough money to cover the bond.
New York Attorney General Letitia James pushed back on the request, warning in a filing that Trump and his co-defendants might attempt to evade the financial penalty.
"Contrary to defendants' argument, there is substantial risk that defendants will attempt to evade enforcement of the judgment (or make enforcement more difficult) following appeal," the filing said.
New York's Appellate Division denied the request for a stay of the financial penalties last week but clarified that Trump's ban on accessing New York-based financing does not apply to bond companies.
"I did nothing wrong, except build a successful and very liquid company, owning some of the Greatest Properties in the World," Trump said on social media following the ruling last week.
The deadline to pay the $83.3 million defamation judgment is on Monday, and Trump's $454 million judgment in his civil fraud case is due later this month.
