Lawyers for E. Jean Carroll asked a federal judge Thursday to deny former President Donald Trump’s request to pause the enforcement of the $83.3 million that he owes her, saying there’s “no basis” for the stay.
The filing is in response to Mr. Trump’s effort to get New York Judge Lewis Kaplan to allow him to delay paying Ms. Carroll while he appeals the decision, gets the amount reduced or gets to post a bond for a significantly smaller amount.
“The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than ’trust me.’ He doesn’t offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesn’t specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting,” the lawyers wrote.
The attorneys noted that Mr Trump “doesn’t even acknowledge” the risks that go along with his finances, pointing out the recent $454 million he owes from his New York civil fraud trial, and the 91 felony charges he faces.
“He simply asks the Court to ’trust me’ and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers,” they said.
Ms. Carroll was awarded the eight-figure sum by a jury in New York last month after he was found guilty of defamation. The trial focused on whether Mr. Trump defamed Ms. Carroll with remarks he made in 2019 criticizing her for publicly accusing him of raping her in a department store in 1996.
A previous jury last year found Mr. Trump liable for sex abuse and defamation for 2022 comments he made and he was ordered to pay $5 million.
On Wednesday, lawyers for Mr. Trump asked a New York appeals court to put a hold on the collection of the over $450 million fine he was ordered to pay from his New York civil fraud trial while he appeals.
In a court filing, the lawyers said the president would post a $100 million appeal bond rather than a bond for the entire amount. They say that a provision in Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling that bans Mr. Trump from getting loans and running a business for three years would make it impossible to get a bond to cover the total amount.
They requested an interim stay, rather than an automatic stay. The former president would receive an automatic stay if he were to cover the whole amount.
Associate Justice Anil Sing said Wednesday that Mr. Trump must post a bond that covers the full amount. He did, however, put a pause on the three-year ban that stopped the former president from getting loans in New York.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who first brought the case against Mr. Trump, said she will start to seize his assets if he doesn’t pay.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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