Donald Trump posts $92 million E. Jean Carroll bond after judge denies delay request
Former President Donald Trump said Friday he had posted a bond of nearly $92 million to block advice columnist E. Jean Carroll from collecting on her major defamation trial victory as he seeks to get the verdict overturned.
The move comes one day after New York federal Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Trump's request for a shield from collection until three business days after Kaplan rules on an earlier Trump motion seeking a longer-term shield. Kaplan wrote that Trump's predicament was "a result of his own dilatory actions," noting Trump waited until 25 days after the jury's Jan. 26 verdict to ask for the longer-term shield.
The jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages in her defamation trial against the Republican presidential frontrunner. Carroll testified that Trump's attacks against her in June of 2019, after she went public with sexual assault allegations against him, unleashed a torrent of threats and abuse from his supporters.
Trump issued two lengthy denials at the time, including stating that "people should pay dearly for such false accusations."
As Trump continued to attack Carroll on social media even during the trial, Carroll's lawyer urged the jurors to consider what amount of punitive damages would make a self-proclaimed billionaire stop defaming her client.
"He does care about money," attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) said. "How much will it take to make him stop?"
The jurors returned a verdict of $65 million in punitive damages, and another $18.3 million in compensatory damages.
How the defamation trial relates to sexual assault
The victory for Carroll builds on her $5 million victory in May in a trial against Trump over claims of sexual abuse and a separate instance of defamation. Jurors there concluded Trump had sexually abused the New York writer after hearing her allegations that he attacked her in a New York department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Based on that May verdict, which Trump has appealed, the judge said in advance of the second trial that Trump couldn't argue to the jurors that he hadn't sexually abused Carroll. Trump has always denied Carroll's abuse allegations.
In his bond notice, Trump asked the court to approve the bond and block Carroll from being able to collect pending Trump's appeal in the case. Without a shield, Trump would be vulnerable to collection starting next week, when his 30 days to post a bond or deposit plus interest with the court before Carroll could collect were set to expire.
Trump has been awaiting a ruling from the judge on a request to block Carroll from pursuing his money or assets until 30 days after Trump gets a ruling on his post-trial motions, including a request for a new trial.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump posts $92 million E. Jean Carroll bond after losing delay bid
