E. Jean Carroll tells judge to reject Trump’s request to delay $83 million judgment, calling him the ‘least trustworthy of borrowers’
By Kara Scannell, CNN
(CNN) — E. Jean Carroll said Donald Trump should not be given more time to post the $83.3 million she was awarded in her defamation trial against the former president, telling the judge that Trump is the “least trustworthy of borrowers.”
On Friday, Trump asked the judge overseeing the defamation case to give him additional time to satisfy the judgment while he appeals the jury verdict or allow him to post a lesser amount ranging from $24 million to $40 million.
Carroll’s lawyers opposed the request, writing in a court filing Thursday that Trump’s request comes down to “trust me.”
“He doesn’t offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesn’t specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting. He doesn’t even acknowledge the risks that now accompany his financial situation, from a half billion-dollar judgment obtained by the New York Attorney General to the 91 felony charges that might end his career as a businessman permanently,” the attorneys wrote.
They continued: “He simply asks the Court to ‘trust me’ and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers.” Carroll’s attorneys also pointed to Trump’s history of stiffing lenders and attorneys.
Trump’s attorneys have until Saturday to reply before the judge issues a decision.
The judge made the jury verdict official on February 8, which gave Trump 30 days to post a bond to appeal. On the current schedule, he would need to post the bond in about two weeks.
Since the verdict, Trump’s financial condition has become more complicated. The judge overseeing the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case entered a $454 million judgment against Trump earlier this month. Trump has offered in that case to post $100 million and asked an appeals court judge to delay the timing of the bond. The judge denied his motion for a stay on Wednesday.
Carroll’s lawyers said it’s not only the opacity of Trump’s current finances, but the impact that Trump’s swirling legal problems – including four criminal indictments – could have on his ability to satisfy the judgment down the road. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges.
“If Trump is convicted of even a subset of the 91 felony charges lodged against him, the implications for his ability to satisfy the judgment here could be significant. And even prior to a conviction, Trump’s ‘brand’ – purportedly his most valuable asset, though not one that can easily be utilized to satisfy a civil judgment – may suffer as a result of the various legal proceedings in which he is enmeshed,” Carroll’s lawyers wrote.
“Moreover, by the time the post-trial motions (or the appeal) are fully resolved, Trump may be in a very different position. He could then be President of the United States; he could then be a convicted criminal serving time behind bars; or, given his advanced age, Carroll may be forced to reckon with his estate. Any of these developments could substantially complicate collection efforts here,” her attorneys said.
The $83.3 million verdict was the second time over the past year that a jury has awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages from Trump for his defamatory statements disparaging her and denying her rape allegations.
Last year a jury awarded her $5 million in damages after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation for denying Carroll’s rape allegation, saying she wasn’t his type, and suggesting she made up the story to sell copies of her book.
In the case at hand, a jury found Carroll should receive $83.3 million in damages to repair her reputation, to compensate her, and to punish Trump.
The-CNN-Wire
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