Trump Loses Emergency Bid to Block $5.8 Million E. Jean Carroll Payment
A federal judge has ordered the release of about $5.8 million to E. Jean Carroll from money Donald Trump placed in court after a 2023 civil verdict found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
Trump’s lawyers immediately appealed the order, but Judge Eunice C. Lee of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied an emergency request to block the transfer, according to The Associated Press.
The legal consequence is straightforward. This is not a new verdict against Trump. It is the enforcement stage of a prior civil judgment after the Supreme Court recently let the verdict stand, clearing the way for Judge Lewis Kaplan to release the funds. The original $5 million award has grown with interest.
Kaplan wrote that Trump had been stalling the case for years and said it was time for him to pay the judgment. Carroll’s lawyers told the appellate court that she had waited more than three years for the jury’s verdict to be paid.
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Trump continues to deny wrongdoing. His lawyers argued that Kaplan’s order should not take effect because Trump has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its refusal to hear the case. The Guardian reported that Trump’s team said release should wait while that rehearing effort remains unresolved.
The ruling drew immediate online attention. Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance posted that Kaplan had ordered the judgment and interest disbursed. Legal writer Roger Parloff had earlier flagged Trump’s bid for more time after certiorari was denied. Actor Mark Hamill posted a celebratory reaction on Bluesky.
Trump is also appealing a separate $83 million defamation award Carroll won after a 2024 trial.
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