A federal judge has emphatically rejected Donald Trump's latest attempt to delay payment of a $5.8 million judgment for defaming E Jean Carroll, a magazine columnist whom a jury determined he sexually abused. In a single-sentence order dated 4 July, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied the former president's request for more time to pay the civil judgment.
Background of the Case
Carroll was awarded damages after a New York jury concluded that Trump sexually abused her in 1996 and then defamed her after she publicly described the attack in 2019. Trump's move to delay payment came just days after the US Supreme Court, without explanation, declined to review the jury's 2023 verdict.
Trump's Argument for Delay
In a filing to Judge Kaplan, Trump's attorneys argued that his former lead counsel, Justin Smith, had been confirmed to a federal judgeship in June on Trump's nomination. They claimed that new lead counsel Josh Halpern needed more time “to become completely familiar with the facts and procedural circumstances.”
Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge), countered that the request “appears to be little more than yet another play for time,” noting that Trump nominated Smith for the court of appeals more than five months prior and had “ample time to retain new counsel.”
Judge's Ruling and Next Steps
Judge Kaplan's rejection was recorded as a “text-only order” on the case docket, meaning no formal written order accompanied it. As a result, Trump has until Tuesday to release the money, held in an escrow account, to Carroll—or file additional arguments explaining why he will not do so.
Separate Appeal and Potential Conjoined Cases
This case is separate from Trump's appeal of a Manhattan civil jury's 2024 award of $83.3 million to Carroll for defamation. However, Carroll's lawyers have suggested that Trump might seek to conjoin the cases to further delay payment. In one of his final acts as Trump's attorney, Smith wrote to the Supreme Court in June that his client would appeal the larger award, arguing that “the court may wish to consider the petitions together” given they involve the same parties.
The second case raises questions of presidential immunity since it relates to statements Trump made about Carroll during his first term. Carroll's lawyers fear that a conjoined case could result in both judgments being wiped out.
Trump's Criticism of the Judge
Judge Kaplan has made several rulings during the case that have angered Trump. In 2023, after the jury's award, Trump posted on Truth Social, alluding to Kaplan's appointment by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. He wrote: “What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be, speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
