Judge orders $5.8 million Carroll payout despite Trump’s rehearing bid
A federal judge ordered the immediate release of nearly $5.8 million in damages and interest to writer E. Jean Carroll, rejecting Donald Trump’s effort to keep the funds frozen while he seeks reconsideration from the Supreme court. Judge Lewis Kaplan directed the court clerk to disburse the original award, including accrued interest, to Carroll’s attorneys, despite Trump’s legal attempt to delay payment while his rehearing petition is pending before the Supreme Court. Trump’s attorneys filed a petition arguing the case should be held while the Supreme Court reviews whether his 2019 statements about Carroll, made during his presidency, are protected by presidential immunity. The order was issued shortly after Trump’s legal team sought to delay the payout, which the court dismissed. The Supreme Court has previously declined to review the case, and petitions for re-hearing are rarely granted. Carroll’s legal team contends further delays are unwarranted, as the disbursement can now proceed even with Trump’s pending appeal.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of nearly $5.8 million in damages and interest to writer E. Jean Carroll, rejecting President Donald Trump’s effort to keep the money frozen while he pursues a long-shot request for the Supreme Court to reconsider his appeal.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan directed the clerk of court to disburse the original $5 million awarded by a New York jury, along with accrued post-judgment interest, from the court registry to Carroll’s attorneys.
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Columnist E. Jean Carroll exits the New York Federal Court, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, after former President Donald Trump appeared in court, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
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The order came less than a day after Trump’s lawyers argued the money should remain in escrow because they had filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to rehear its June 29 decision declining to review the case.
“Collection cannot begin while proceedings remain pending before the Supreme Court, which is currently the case,” attorneys Josh Halpern and Michael Madaio wrote in Tuesday night’s filing.
Kaplan, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, nevertheless granted Carroll’s motion without addressing the merits of the rehearing request, ordering the clerk to release both the principal judgment and accrued interest.
Trump’s rehearing petition, which was docketed at the highest court on Wednesday, argues the justices should revisit the case because he will soon ask the Supreme Court to hear a separate appeal involving whether his 2019 statements about Carroll while serving as president are protected by presidential immunity under the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Trump v. United States, which found that presidents enjoy broad immunities for official acts while serving.
According to the petition, those same 2019 White House statements were introduced as evidence during the 2023 civil trial that resulted in the $5 million verdict. Trump’s lawyers contend that if the Supreme Court later determines those statements were protected official acts, they should never have been admitted before the jury.
“The forthcoming petition in Carroll I will present the issue of whether the 2019 White House statements constitute protected official acts,” the petition states. “Because those same statements were introduced and emphasized at trial in Carroll II, the disposition of Carroll I would bear on the proper disposition of Carroll II.”
Trump’s attorneys asked the Supreme Court to either grant review of the $5 million case or hold it while the justices consider the forthcoming immunity petition arising from Carroll’s separate defamation lawsuit, in which a jury awarded her $83.3 million.
Rehearing petitions are rarely granted by the Supreme Court, and the justices denied Trump’s original petition for review without a noted dissent last month after it was listed on the docket for reconsideration 15 times.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, has argued the Supreme Court’s denial marked the end of the appeals process and that further delays in releasing the money would be unwarranted.
TRUMP SEEKS TO BLOCK $5.8 MILLION CARROLL PAYOUT PENDING SECOND SUPRME COURT APPEAL
The disbursement order means Carroll’s attorneys may now receive the nearly $5.8 million held by the court, even as Trump’s rehearing request remains pending before the Supreme Court.
Attorneys for the president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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