Trump asks Supreme Court to delay $5 million payment to E. Jean Carroll

Donald Trump is seeking to delay the disbursement of $5 million to E. Jean Carroll, money that has been held in a federal court account for three years. A jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation of Carroll, and the Supreme Court recently declined to hear his appeal, seemingly concluding the matter.

However, Trump has now asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. In a filing Tuesday night, his lawyers argued that the lower court judge should postpone releasing the funds to Carroll until the Supreme Court weighs in again. Carroll and her legal team have been actively pursuing the payment since the Supreme Court's initial rejection of Trump's appeal.

Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, has criticized Trump's latest effort as "gamesmanship." She accused the former president of attempting "to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying" Carroll. Trump has consistently denied Carroll's allegations since they first surfaced in 2019, calling her story a "hoax."

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gamesmanship

This legal battle stems from a 2023 jury finding that Trump more likely than not sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s. Trump also faced a separate defamation trial in 2024, where a jury awarded Carroll over $83 million, also related to his denials of her allegations. Trump is also seeking the Supreme Court's review in that case, arguing that constitutional claims in the second matter overlap with the first.

Neither the Supreme Court nor the district court has yet ruled on Trump's latest request regarding the $5 million payment. The arguments the Supreme Court initially declined to hear in the $5 million case concerned whether the trial judge had allowed inadmissible evidence. In the $83 million case, Trump's defense centers on presidential immunity potentially preventing certain statements made during his first term from being presented.

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to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying