Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

E Jean Carroll lawyers accuse Trump of trying to dodge paying the $83.3m he owes her

The writer’s legal team expressed concern that Mr Trump, with all the legal cases he’s facing, might not have enough cash to pay up

Julia Reinstein
Thursday 29 February 2024 20:11 EST
Comments
E. Jean Carroll exits court after Trump ordered to pay $83.3m for defamation

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

E Jean Carroll’s legal team has filed an opposition to former president Donald Trump’s recent attempt to delay paying the $83.3m payment owed from her recently won defamation suit.

The opposition came after lawyers for Mr Trump filed a motion pushing the judge to delay enforcement of the huge payment.

In a 36-page court filing on Thursday, Ms Carroll’s attorneys argued that Mr Trump has no grounds for the delay.

“The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than ‘trust me,’” the filing states. “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.”

Ms Carroll’s legal team expressed concern that the former president — who is currently embroiled in a wide range of legal disputes — might not have enough cash to pay up.

“He doesn’t even acknowledge the risks that now accompany his financial situation, from a half billion-dollar judgment obtained by the New York Attorney General to the 91 felony charges that might end his career as a businessman permanently,” the filing states.

“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,” it states.

In January, a jury ruled that Mr Trump had defamed Ms Carroll after she publicly accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

Mr Trump denied the allegations, claiming he had "never met that person in my life,” and even told The Hill in 2019 “She’s not my type,” implying Ms Carroll wasn’t attractive enough for the assault to have occurred.

Attorneys for Mr Trump filed a motion for a mistrial after the jury ruled in Ms Carroll’s favour, but a federal judge denied the motion, calling it “entirely pointless.”

In a Good Morning America interview after the decision, Ms Carroll said she planned to spend the $83.3m on “something Donald Trump hates.”

“If it’ll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, that’s my intent,” she said.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in