Topline
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were granted permission from a judge on Friday to deposit $5.55 million to a New York federal court while they appeal the May verdict in which a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual assault of writer E. Jean Carroll and ordered $5 million in damages.
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers were granted permission from a judge on Friday to deposit … [+]
Key Facts
Trump’s team submitted the filing Friday—the same day it was approved by federal district Judge Lewis Kaplan—and the deposit will be used instead of a bond while they await the appeal decision.
There’s no information in the letter Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina sent Kaplan about why they decided to post cash instead of a bond, but Trump will get the money back if his appeal is granted.
In May, a jury in New York federal court awarded Carroll $2 million in damages for sexual abuse, and roughly $3 million for defamation based on Trump’s social media posts in which he denied knowing Carroll.
Trump filed for appeal shortly after, and also requested a new trial, claiming the amount granted for sexual abuse was “grossly excessive” because the incident between the two was sexual abuse—not rape, which he was also accused of but was not found liable.
Key Background
Carroll first accused Trump of sexual assault in 2019, and sued him for defamation after he denied the sexual encounter that Caroll said took place in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s, with Trump claiming he didn’t know her. Three years later—while the first lawsuit was held up in court—she sued Trump again for battery and additional defamation claims. That trial—which included graphic testimony from Carroll, who described being pushed into a dressing room, where Trump “inserted his penis” into her—lasted two weeks and wrapped up in early May, when the jury ruled Trump was liable for defamation and sexual assault.
Tangent
Just one day after the jury found Trump liable, he called the trial “a rigged deal,” called Carroll a “wack job,” again denied knowing Carroll and continued to say her claims were “fake” and a “made-up story” in a CNN town hall. Following that, Carroll received permission from the court to amend her initial 2019 defamation lawsuit to include what Trump said in the CNN hall, allowing her to seek “a very substantial punitive damages award.”
Further Reading
Trump Requests New Trial In E. Jean Carroll Sexual Abuse Case, Calling Damages ‘Excessive’ (Forbes)
Trump Appeals E. Jean Carroll Sexual Abuse Verdict (Forbes)
E. Jean Carroll Reportedly Considers Suing Trump Again For Calling Assault Claim ‘Made-Up’—Just Days After Jury Verdict (Forbes)
E. Jean Carroll Cleared To Amend Lawsuit Against Trump To Include Comments At CNN Town Hall (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/06/23/trump-deposits-55-million-in-new-york-court-to-pay-e-jean-carroll-as-he-awaits-appeal-response/