Trump asked a federal judge to block E. Jean Carroll from collecting a $5.8 million award pending his Supreme Court appeal.
US President Donald Trump has asked a federal judge to stop writer E. Jean Carroll from collecting a damages award after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, arguing that the payment should remain on hold while he continues efforts to overturn the verdict at the US Supreme Court.
In a filing submitted to a federal court in Manhattan, Trump’s lawyers requested that the approximately $5.8 million award, including accrued interest, remain in a court-supervised escrow account until the Supreme Court decides whether to reconsider the case. The original 2023 verdict awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump’s legal team argued that releasing the funds before the appeals process is exhausted could cause irreparable harm if the Supreme Court later agrees to review the case. They said Carroll has indicated she intends to donate the money, making it unlikely the funds could be recovered if the judgment is ultimately overturned.
The lawyers also argued that allowing Carroll to collect the award before the legal process is complete could undermine public confidence in the judicial system, while reiterating Trump’s claim that the cases against him are politically motivated.
Carroll’s legal team declined to comment on the latest filing.
The Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal in late June. Trump has since petitioned the court to reconsider that decision. Court records later indicated that the renewed request was not accepted for filing, although no explanation was provided. The disputed funds remain in escrow while the legal proceedings continue.
Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation, describing it as a fabrication and insisting he did not know Carroll.
During the 2023 civil trial, jurors found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, though they did not conclude that he committed rape. The verdict resulted in the $5 million damages award that is now the subject of the latest court dispute.
In a separate case decided in January 2024, another jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages for defamatory statements he made while serving as US president. Trump is also seeking to overturn that judgment, arguing that presidential immunity should shield him from liability.
Trump’s lawyers contend that a successful appeal in the larger defamation case could also affect the legal basis for the earlier $5 million judgment. Carroll’s attorneys, however, have accused Trump of using repeated appeals to delay payment, insisting that the time has come for him to satisfy the court’s judgment.
