Judge orders release of $5.8 million owed by Trump to E. Jean Carroll

Judge orders release of $5.8 million owed by Trump to E. Jean Carroll

A federal judge has ordered the release of $5.8 million owed by President Donald Trump to E. Jean Carroll, a writer who accused Trump of sexually abusing and defaming her. The order comes after the US Supreme Court recently let the 2023 civil verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to release the money.

The jury found Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in a department store dressing room, and defamed her after she publicly talked about it in a 2019 memoir during Trump's first term. Trump has repeatedly insisted that he never knew Carroll, now 82, and accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and having political motives.

Trump's lawyers immediately appealed to stop the payment, and have also appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to try to stop the order's effect. According to Bryan Sullivan, a partner with Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP, "I think that would be a really tough argument" for Trump to secure a second circuit stay.

Carroll's legal team, led by attorney Roberta Kaplan, pushed for the swift release of the funds after the Supreme Court's decision. Roberta Kaplan argued that "enough was enough" and that Trump was trying to "further delay Carroll's collection of the judgment awarded to her in 2023." She also stated, "After four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end."

Trump had deposited the $5 million jury award, plus interest, into a court-controlled account about six weeks after Carroll's win. The money has been held in the account while Trump pursued his appeal. The judge's order directs the disbursement of the court-controlled funds, which now total $5.8 million due to interest accrual.

Trump's team has made a detailed argument against releasing the funds, saying that Trump has asked the Supreme Court to rehear his request for review of the case. They argue that if Carroll received the money and the Supreme Court wound up taking on the case and ruling in Trump's favor after disbursement, Trump would suffer an "unrecoverable loss".

However, Judge Kaplan rejected Trump's effort to keep the money on hold, concluding that there was no legal basis to prevent Carroll from accessing the funds after they were deposited with the court. The judge's order directs the court clerk to release both the principal amount and any post-judgment interest that accrued while the money was held in the court's investment system.

Carroll has also won a separate defamation trial against Trump, with a jury awarding her $83.3 million in 2024. Trump has appealed this decision, and has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the case.

According to Neama Rahmani, founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, "That's really the only mechanism that's left" for Trump to appeal the decision, referring to the possibility of requesting a stay from the US Supreme Court. However, Rahmani noted that the Supreme Court "almost never" grants petitions for rehearing.

Carroll's lawyers say she would receive roughly $5.8 million dollars with accrued interest. Trump's lawyers argued that he would face "unrecoverable loss" if the payouts are made because Carroll has said she plans to give away all of the funds she collects.

A spokesman for Trump's legal team 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." However, the judge's order is a significant development in the case, and it is likely that the payment will be made to Carroll in the near future.