NEW YORK — President Donald Trump will not be required to pay an $83 million defamation award to advice columnist E. Jean Carroll immediately, following a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. According to a court entry filed on Tuesday, the appeals court agreed to a request by one of Trump’s lawyers to delay the payment. This stay remains in effect until the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to review the case or reject an appeal.
Conditions for the Stay
The Second Circuit’s decision comes after it refused Trump’s request last month for a rare en banc hearing, which would have involved the full court reviewing a three-judge panel’s affirmation of the January 2024 verdict. Following that denial, Trump attorney Justin D. Smith petitioned the court to stay the effect of the decision upholding the award. The appeals court granted this request but imposed a condition: Trump must post a $7.4 million bond to cover any additional interest costs that may accrue during the legal process. This financial requirement was part of a request made by Carroll’s attorney.
Legal Arguments and Background
Smith stated last week that there is a “fair prospect” that the Supreme Court will rule in Trump’s favor. The former president has consistently dismissed Carroll’s claims, which she first made public in 2019, as a “made up scam.” Carroll alleges that Trump sexually attacked her in a Manhattan luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996. The $83 million award was determined by a jury that heard Trump testify and observed his behavior for several days. This amount was added to a $5 million award granted by a different jury in May 2023, which concluded that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and subsequently defamed her.
Appellate Court Findings
In upholding the verdict last September, the Second Circuit panel noted that Trump continued his attacks against Carroll for at least five years, making them “more extreme and frequent as the trial approached.” The court highlighted that these attacks persisted during the trial itself. In one statement issued two days into the proceedings, Trump proclaimed he would continue to defame Carroll “a thousand times.” Trump is challenging the $83 million award on several grounds, including an assertion of “absolute immunity” for comments made while he was president. He argues that his disavowal of knowing Carroll and his attacks on her motivations were politically driven or intended to promote her memoir.
