Trump can delay paying full E. Jean Carroll damages until after appeal: Report

by Lauren Irwin - 01/27/24 5:01 PM ET

Former President Trump can delay paying E. Jean Carroll the $83.3 million a jury decided he owes her until after he exhausts all appeal options he has vowed to seek, The New York Times reports.

On Friday, a federal jury in New York ordered Trump to pay Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her accusation that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.

After the decision, he announced he would be appealing the “absolutely ridiculous” ruling.

The former president and business mogul can pay the millions of dollars to the court, which would hold the money while the appeal is pending, notes the Times.

The decision Friday adds to the previous sum of $5 million Trump was ordered to pay Carroll after a verdict found him liable for sexually abusing the columnist and defaming her over a separate comment. Trump appealed the decision last year and avoided paying Carroll the money right away at the time.

Trump also could attempt to secure a bond, which saves him from having to pay her the full amount up front, the Times report noted. He may have to pay a deposit and offer collateral that would come with interest and fees — but it also means he would have to find someone willing to lend him the significant sum of money.

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The former president, who is the front runner for the GOP primary, made a point of showing up to the trial although he was not required to attend. He often picked the courtroom over the campaign trail, except for one day when he attended his mother-in-law’s funeral. Throughout the proceedings, Trump was once threatened by the judge to be kicked out of the courtroom, and then later stormed out during Carroll’s closing arguments.

The trial had inevitably become intertwined with the primary race, as have the several other legal cases Trump is juggling as he campaigns for president for the third time.

The Times report said the former president has avoided spending his own money on his various legal battles, tapping into his political action committee’s funds to pay for the trials’ various fees. The newest sum, though, is much larger than the amount in his political accounts and will require him to “reach into his own pocket,” the outlet reported.