Donald Trump Moves to Freeze Paying $83 Million to E. Jean Carroll [View all]
Source: Newsweek
Published May 06, 2026 at 03:52 AM EDT updated May 06, 2026 at 09:42 AM EDT
President Donald Trump has asked the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to pause enforcement of the $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to E. Jean Carroll, seeking to delay payment while he prepares a potential Supreme Court appeal In a filing on Tuesday, Trump requested that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals stay its mandate in the case, which would temporarily block Carroll from taking steps to collect the judgment.
The request comes days after the appeals court rejected Trump’s bid to rehear the case before the full court, effectively ending his path to further review at that level. Trump’s lawyers say a stay is necessary to preserve what they describe as serious constitutional questions surrounding presidential immunity and the Westfall Act, which governs when the federal government can be substituted as a defendant for officials acting within the scope of their duties.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said Tuesday’s motion was “pretty expected,” and told Newsweek her team does not oppose a stay of the mandate, provided the president increases the size of the existing bond to account for interest and to ensure the damages remain available to satisfy the judgment following the conclusion of all proceedings. When approached for comment, Trump’s attorneys shared a copy of Tuesday’s filing.
What the Request Would Do
If granted, the stay would halt enforcement of the judgment while Trump seeks review at the Supreme Court. It would not overturn or revisit the jury’s verdict, which found Trump liable for defaming Carroll and awarded her $83.3 million in damages. Absent a stay, Carroll would be able to begin collection proceedings once the appellate court issues its mandate. Trump’s legal team argues that allowing enforcement now would cause irreparable harm, particularly because Carroll has publicly said she plans to give away any money she receives, making recovery difficult if the Supreme Court were later to reverse the ruling.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-moves-to-freeze-paying-83-million-to-e-jean-carroll-11917197
As a note - in order to do that appeal, he had to put the money in an escrow account under the control of the court, so that money is there - at least as a suety bond (along with the $5 million he still owes her from the earlier case and all the interest he owes). So it just needs to be released after all his wasteful hemming and hawing.
He'll be 80 next month and she'll be 83 in December so this needs to wrap the hell up.
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