A federal judge, Lewis Kaplan, ruling on Thursday, declined Donald Trump's plea to postpone the enforcement of the $83.3 million verdict handed to writer E. Jean Carroll in her recent defamation lawsuit.
This decision, rendered in the United States District Court in Manhattan, adds further urgency for the former President to arrange an acceptable bond by Monday to facilitate his appeal process.
The verdict, delivered on January 26, found in favor of Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, who accused Trump of defaming her in June 2019 by refuting her allegations of rape in the mid-1990s at a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Judge Kaplan officially confirmed the verdict on February 8, granting Trump a 30-day period to furnish a bond or cash for his appeal, which is expected to contest both the jury's determination of liability and the assessed damages.
In his attempt to delay the verdict's enforcement until the resolution of his motions to dismiss it, filed on Tuesday, Trump's request was rebuffed by Judge Kaplan. The judge noted Trump's delay in seeking the delay, stating that Trump had waited 25 days after the verdict before filing his motion.
Furthermore, the judge remarked that Trump failed to demonstrate how he might sustain "irreparable injury" if required to furnish a bond. Judge Kaplan is yet to rule on Trump's plea for a reduced bond.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's presidential campaign, asserted that Trump had "timely" filed a motion to stay the verdict, emphasizing the significance of temporary stays in considering such motions. Cheung expressed anticipation for continued litigation in the case, aiming for the "complete vindication of the truth."
Meanwhile, Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, refrained from commenting on the matter.
In Trump's endeavor to evade the necessity of posting a significant bond, or any bond at all, his legal team countered Carroll's assertion regarding his strained finances. They reassured that Carroll's interests were adequately safeguarded and suggested that a $24.5 million bond would suffice to mitigate any minimal risks posed to her.
Carroll contested this stance, highlighting the opacity of Trump's financial situation, branding him as the "least trustworthy of borrowers," and contending that his plea essentially boiled down to a plea of "trust me."
Trump's financial circumstances faced additional strain last month when a judge in New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud case ordered him to pay $454.2 million. While Trump offered to post a $100 million bond in that case, James insisted that any bond should cover the entire judgment.
An appeals court judge, on February 28, rejected Trump's bid to delay the enforcement during the appeal process.
When asked on March 5 about his ability to fulfill his financial obligations or post bonds in both cases, Trump asserted to Fox News, "I have a lot of money. I can do what I want to do. ... I don't worry about money."
