E. Jean Carroll, remember her, is still waiting to be paid by President Donald Trump regarding the civil suit she filed against him. She is the definition of a woman scorned, someone who will sue him for anything. That legal saga dates to 2022, when Trump was found liable for allegedly sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.
The president was also determined to have defamed Ms. Carroll. Trump was ordered to pay her over $83 million, but the president’s legal team has sought to stave off payment by appealing to the Supreme Court, arguing that the judgment should be vacated on grounds of presidential immunity. This seems to be the last bite of the legal apple. Carroll is fine waiting, as long as interest is tacked on to the principal here (via The Hill):
Carroll has taken Trump to civil trial twice after publicly accusing him during his first White House term of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. The president denies her claims and wants the Supreme Court to toss both verdicts.
The first jury found Trump liable of sexually abusing Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million. That verdict also found he later defamed the writer in a 2022 statement.
The recent appeals concern the second trial. A separate jury ordered Trump to cough up $83.3 million for defaming Carroll in denying her story when she first came forward.
Carroll, who insists Trump’s appeals are meritless, did not object to the delay as long as the president increases his bond by $7.5 million to account for additional interest he’ll owe, if unsuccessful.
The 2nd Circuit agreed in a brief order issued Monday.
“We are pleased that the Second Circuit conditioned the stay on President Trump posting a bond of nearly $100 million — increasing the $91,630,000 bond he originally posted by another $7,462,492.74 to account for the accruing post-judgment interest,” Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said in a statement.
[…]
So far, Trump has not emerged successful. The full 2nd Circuit bench late last month declined to overrule panel decisions rejecting Trump’s claims.
The Supreme Court is the last and only option left here.
Keep in mind, this is how Carroll reacted to the judgment back then:
Rachel Maddow asks E. Jean Carroll what she's going to do with "Trump's money" to help "women's rights."
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) January 30, 2024
Carroll says she and Maddow will "go shopping, get completely new wardrobes, new shoes...Rachel, what do you want, penthouse?"
Her lawyer nervously says "that's a joke": pic.twitter.com/5LAx5xU5Uy