Trump files motion to stop $5.8M payout to E. Jean Carroll
by Lisa Hornung · UPIJuly 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and his attorneys filed a motion to pause the payout of nearly $5.8 million to writer E. Jean Carroll more than two years after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
On Tuesday, Trump's attorneys urged Manhattan District Judge Lewis Kaplan to deny Caroll's motion to disburse the nearly $5.8 million award from escrow. They argued that a "timely petition for rehearing remains pending before the Supreme Court."
"Collection cannot begin while proceedings remain pending before the Supreme Court, which is currently the case," lawyers Josh Halpern and Michael Madaio wrote in their response to Carroll's petition.
The Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's case on June 29. That means the verdict finding him liable stands.
Carroll was awarded the damages by a jury in 2023 after finding him liable for sexual abuse in a department store dressing room in the 1990s and for defaming her in 2019 after she came forward with the allegations. Trump denies the allegations.
In the defamation case, Carroll was awarded $83.3 million in damages.
"Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to 'review' a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met (Decades old celebrity photo line, standing with her husband, does not count!)," Trump wrote on Truth Social in late June. "I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength."
Trump's lawyers claim that a petition for rehearing is "pending" before the Supreme Court, but records show it wasn't accepted for filing this week, The Hill reported.
In the petition, the lawyers argue that Trump would have "unrecoverable loss" if the money were disbursed then overturned on appeal because Carroll has said she would donate all the money from the defamation suit.
"Plaintiff has repeatedly stated that she intends to give away all funds that she collects from him, and once those funds are distributed to third parties, they likely cannot be recovered," lawyers Josh Halpern and Michael Madaio wrote in the filing.
Carroll's attorneys have argued that Trump is trying to unjustly delay the payment.
"This is the end of the line," they wrote in a June 30 filing. "After four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end."
This week in Washington
News anchors are seen outside the Supreme Court of the United States as the court releases their final opinions before summer recess on Tuesday. The court upheld birthright citizenship and also state laws banning transgender women and girls from playing on school athletic teams. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo