Lead
E Jean Carroll has asked a federal judge to order President Donald Trump to pay the $5m in damages awarded by a jury that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her in a civil case. The request comes a day after the US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's appeal of the 2023 verdict.
Carroll's lawyers filed papers in a federal court in Manhattan urging the court to require the payment, which with interest has grown to nearly $5.8m. They argued that Trump has continued to delay releasing the funds despite repeated legal challenges.
The judge overseeing the case, Lewis Kaplan, has agreed that Carroll could pursue the payment on an expedited basis. He ordered Trump's legal team to respond no later than July 7.
Coverage comparison
Multiple news outlets reported on Carroll's legal filing and the court's response, with consistent accounts of the key events. The BBC reported that Carroll's lawyers said the writer had agreed to all of Trump's requests to delay paying the damages, but that cooperation ended with the Supreme Court's decision. "It is time for him to pay Carroll," her lawyers wrote.
The Guardian reported that Judge Kaplan denied Trump's request for more time to pay the judgment in a single-sentence order on July 4. The Guardian noted that Trump's attorneys had cited the confirmation of his former lead counsel, Justin Smith, as a federal judge, arguing that new counsel needed time to become familiar with the case. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, called the request "little more than yet another play for time."
Al Jazeera reported that Carroll's lawyers accused the Trump team of having "slow-rolled" the payout by "asserting or inventing a new [defence] each time his prior effort to delay the case fails."
Key claims
- Carroll filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump in 2019, after she publicly described being attacked by him in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegations, saying she lied and dismissing her as unattractive.
- A New York jury sided with Carroll in May 2023, finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump did not attend the trial. Carroll testified that the attack occurred in spring 1996 after a chance encounter with Trump at the store.
- The amount Carroll is due has grown to nearly $5.8m with interest since the verdict. Her lawyers have asked the court to require the sum to be disbursed by Trump.
- Trump reacted to the Supreme Court's decision on Truth Social, writing: "Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to 'review' a Fake Case brought against me." He also promised to keep fighting what he called a "Weaponization and Lawfare Case."
- Carroll's lawyers said Trump's legal team contacted them minutes after Trump responded to the Supreme Court's action, asking that the payout be delayed. They said Trump had again sought to delay payment while asking the Supreme Court to reconsider taking up his appeal.
- Judge Kaplan's rejection of Trump's motion for more time was recorded as a "text-only order" on the case docket, meaning it included no formal written order. Trump has until Tuesday to release the money, which is being held in an escrow account, or file additional arguments.
Perspectives
E Jean Carroll's legal team: Carroll's lawyers argue that Trump has taken "extraordinary lengths" to avoid payment, and that "after four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end." They describe Trump's latest delay request as "yet another play for time."
Donald Trump's legal team: Trump's attorneys requested more time for new lead counsel to become familiar with the case, citing the recent confirmation of former lead counsel Justin Smith to a federal judgeship. Trump himself has called the case a "Fake Case" and a "Weaponization and Lawfare Case," and has continued to deny Carroll's allegations.