Donald Trump posts $91 million bond as he appeals verdict in E. Jean Carroll defamation case after failed delay attempt
DONALD Trump has posted a $91 million bond as he appeals the verdict in his New York defamation case by writer E. Jean Carroll.
The former president secured funds totaling about $91,630,000 before Monday's due date when he was scheduled to pay damages to the writer totaling $83 million, plus interest.
Trump obtained an appeals bond from the Federal Insurance Company, according to filings viewed by .
"President Trump respectfully requests that this Court recognize the supersedeas bond obtained by President Trump in the sum of $91,630,000.00 and approve it as adequate and sufficient to stay the enforcement of the Judgment, to the extent that the Judgment awards damages, pending the ultimate disposition of President Trump's appeal," defense attorney Alina Habba wrote in the filing.
Trump also filed a notice to appeal the verdict to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The leading presidential candidate was ordered to pay $91.6 million, including interest, to Carroll for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her allegations that he sexually abused her in the dressing room of a department store during the 1990s.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to process the funds by March 11, saying he gave the former president plenty of time to arrange the payment.
"Mr. Trump’s current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions," Kaplan wrote in his order.
"He has had since January 26 to organize his finances with the knowledge that he might need to bond this judgment."
During Carroll's trial, Trump's defense argued that the jury award should be reduced, saying it was excessive.
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However, Carroll's lawyers told the jury that Trump should be punished with a large amount in damages so that it would actually get him to stop his defamatory behavior.
At the time, Trump was accused of saying defamatory statements denying he raped Carroll, saying she "wasn't his type, and accusing her of making up the allegations to boost book sales."
The former president now faces a March 25 deadline to put up another $454 million in fines in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case.
In addition to the New York judgments, Trump is facing mounting legal fees as he continues to battle three criminal indictments in , , and .
Trump and 18 codefendants have been criminally charged by Fulton County's District Attorney Fani Willis over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
In Washington, DC, he's also facing four counts related to conspiring to obstruct the 2020 election results.
And in Florida, the former president is facing 40 federal charges over accusations that he kept top-secret government documents at his beach resort in Mar-a-Lago.
All the while, Trump continues to campaign for another presidential term.
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