Judge Lewis Kaplan Orders Donald Trump To Pay E. Jean Carroll $5 Million In New York

A federal judge in New York ordered President Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll a $5 million judgment plus almost $800,000 in interest after a jury held him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

“Judge orders Trump to pay E”

ABC News

Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered disbursement of the $5 million judgment and interest after the U.S. Supreme Court last month, with no dissents, declined to hear Trump's appeal of the verdict and judgment.

ABC News

ABC News said Trump’s attorneys filed a notice on Wednesday saying they would appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, while CBS News reported the money had been held in a court-controlled bank account for three years.

CBS News also said it was unclear when exactly the funds will be transferred, even as Carroll and her lawyers sought the money after the Supreme Court declined on June 29 to hear the appeal.

In the same dispute, ABC News reported that three years ago Trump deposited $5.55 million in the federal government’s Court Registry Investment System, and Kaplan ordered the clerk to move the money into an account belonging to Carroll’s lawyers.

Trump’s lawyers asked a New York federal judge late Tuesday to withhold nearly $5.8 million from writer E. Jean Carroll, arguing enforcement should be stayed until a request for reconsideration is resolved.

In a court filing, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan told Judge Kaplan, who is not related to her, that it was time for the case to end, writing, "[A]fter four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end,".

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ABC News reported that after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, Trump vowed to continue to fight, saying, "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,".

CBS News said Kaplan called Trump’s latest Supreme Court effort "gamesmanship" and accused the president of trying "to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying" Carroll.

The Hill reported that Kaplan’s order came after the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal without an explanation or reasoning last week, and that Carroll’s attorney said the decision signals Trump should end his pursuit to overturn the 2023 verdict awarding the Elle magazine columnist millions of dollars in damages.

The dispute centers on whether Carroll can collect the damages now that the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal on June 29, while Trump’s lawyers argue the funds should remain in escrow while a rehearing petition is pending.

Reuters reported that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the disbursement of nearly $5.8 million to Carroll representing the original $5 million verdict plus interest, after the Supreme Court on June 29 declined to take up the case.

In a statement quoted by Reuters, a spokesperson for Trump’s lawyers said, "The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,".

Reuters also said Trump’s lawyers warned of "unrecoverable loss" if Carroll gives away the money, and argued that letting Carroll recover only to have the Supreme Court grant a rehearing would "undermine public confidence in an orderly judicial process".

The Hill added that the $5 million award grew to about $5.8 million because of court-ordered interest, and that Trump’s attorneys sought to keep the funds in the court escrow account while "timely petition for rehearing remains pending before the Supreme Court."