A federal judge ordered the release of $5 million to New York writer E. Jean Carroll in her sexual-abuse lawsuit against Donald Trump, rejecting the president’s request to delay the payout while he asks the Supreme Court to reconsider his appeal.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan on Wednesday ordered the court clerk to release $5 million plus interest that Trump deposited after the verdict in May 2023, to allow his appeal. Carroll’s lawyer has said the total amount is now $5.77 million.
Less than an hour after Kaplan’s ruling, Trump filed a notice that he’ll ask the federal appeals court in Manhattan to review it, setting up yet another legal fight that could return to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on June 29 left intact a jury’s finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied it. Trump on July 6 asked the justices to take the unusual step of reconsidering its rejection of his appeal. He argues that the appeal isn’t final until the justices decide on his request for reconsideration.
Read More: Trump Says Carroll Shouldn’t Get $5 Million Before Verdict Final
The president’s lawyer had argued in a filing late Tuesday that releasing the money now would violate the terms of Trump’s and Carroll’s June 2023 agreement to allow the court to hold the money while Trump appealed.
Trump, who has a net worth of $7.7 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, argued he would face “irreparable harm” if the money were released because Carroll has indicated she will give it away. The president might be unable to get the money back if the Supreme Court reverses course and ultimately throws out the verdict, his lawyer said in the Tuesday filing.
The Supreme Court hasn’t decided yet whether to reconsider its decision.
Kaplan did not give a detailed explanation of his decision, citing only the basic terms of the 2023 agreement and the Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s appeal.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team issued a statement that did not address the judge’s ruling, but called Carroll’s case a “hoax.”
Trump, 80, denies attacking Carroll and argues the civil trial in Manhattan was tainted by improper evidence, including the testimony of two other women who accused him of sexual assault that he denies.