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President Donald Trump will not have to immediately pay an $83.3 million defamation judgment to writer E. Jean Carroll while he seeks review from the Supreme Court, according to a court filing Tuesday.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request to pause enforcement of the judgment, allowing Trump to delay payment until the high court decides whether to hear the case or declines the appeal.
The court required President Trump to post a $7.4 million bond to cover potential interest that could accrue during the appeals process, a condition requested by Carroll’s legal team.
“This Court should now stay the mandate to allow President Trump to present important questions relating to, without limitation, Presidential immunity and the Westfall Act to the Supreme Court,” the filing read. “Carroll does not oppose this motion.”
The decision follows the appeals court’s refusal last month to rehear the case before the full bench after a three-judge panel upheld the January 2024 verdict.
President Trump’s attorney Justin D. Smith argued there was a “fair prospect” the Supreme Court could rule in the president’s favor, citing claims of presidential immunity related to statements made while in office.
Carroll’s allegations date back to 2019, when she publicly accused the president of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. He has denied the claims, calling them fabricated.
In upholding the verdict, the appeals court said President Trump continued making defamatory statements about Carroll over several years, including during the trial.
A separate jury in 2023 found President Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. The latter $83.3 million judgment stemmed from additional defamatory statements.
President Trump’s legal team is challenging the award on multiple grounds, including arguments that his remarks were protected under presidential immunity.
