Mar 7, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Trump's request to delay E. Jean Carroll defamation judgment rejected

Rebecca Falconer

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump arrives for an election-night watch party at Mar-a-Lago on March 5, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. — Former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in West Palm Beach, Florida, earlier this month. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Former President Trump's request to delay enforcement of $83.3 million in penalties in his civil defamation judgment to writer E. Jean Carroll was rejected by a New York judge on Thursday.

Why it matters: Judge Lewis Kaplan's ruling means the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee has three days to pay the penalty or post a bond for the entire $83.3 million judgment pending an appeal.

Driving the news: Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, had asked the court in a filing on Wednesday for a delay "until three business days after the Court rules on his stay motion."

However, Kaplan wrote in his order that "Mr. Trump's current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions."
The judge added: "He has had since January 26 to organize his finances with the knowledge that he might need to bond this judgment, yet he waited until 25 days after the jury verdict ... to file his prior motion for an unsecured or partially secured stay pending resolution of post-trial motions."

Context: A jury awarded Carroll the damages in January after finding that Trump had damaged Carroll's reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.

Trump has a 30-day stay under New York law and he filed on the 26th day on Wednesday.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Go deeper: Trump ordered to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll in defamation trial

Add Axios on Google

Trump's request to delay E. Jean Carroll defamation judgment rejected

What to read next