Legal Battle Intensifies as E. Jean Carroll Seeks Payment from Trump
A new chapter unfolds in the ongoing legal saga between advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and former President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Carroll’s legal team urged a judge to enforce a payment of nearly $5.8 million, with accrued interest, from Trump. This demand follows a jury verdict that found Trump guilty of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, with the Supreme Court recently declining to hear Trump’s appeal.
Carroll’s attorneys have filed documents in Manhattan federal court, arguing that Trump continues to delay the payment unjustly. This move comes after the Supreme Court’s decision not to consider Trump’s appeal of the 2023 civil jury verdict, which concluded Trump’s liability in the case. Carroll’s legal representatives highlighted that Trump has resumed defamatory remarks against her while contemplating asking the Court to revisit its decision.
The initial jury verdict stemmed from a trial that Trump did not attend. Carroll recounted her experience of being sexually abused by Trump in the spring of 1996 inside a Manhattan luxury department store dressing room. She first spoke publicly about the incident in 2019, during Trump’s presidency. In response, Trump denied knowing Carroll and accused her of attempting to profit from book sales and political motives.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection, Trump took to social media, vowing to continue his legal battle against what he describes as a “Weaponization and Lawfare Case.” Trump’s legal team promptly contacted Carroll’s attorneys to request a delay in payment pending a potential Supreme Court reconsideration, which Carroll’s lawyers have opposed. Attorneys Roberta Kaplan, D. Brandon Trice, and Maximilian T. Crema emphasized the need for immediate payment, stating that “it is time for him to pay Carroll.”
Trump’s legal representatives have yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter. Meanwhile, Trump is pursuing an appeal against an $83 million defamation compensation awarded to Carroll by another Manhattan jury after a trial in January 2024. During that proceeding, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan instructed the jury to determine the financial damages owed to Carroll based on Trump’s comments about her while serving as president, adhering to the findings of the previous jury.
For more detailed coverage, you can read the original reports here, here, and here.
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