Lawyers for ex-President Donald Trump (left) have asked a judge to sign off on a $5.5million security payment to E Jean Carroll (right), who won a civil lawsuit against him (Pictures: AP)
Former President Donald Trump has signaled he is ready to put up a $5.5million security payment to his sex abuse accuser – even as he appeals the jury’s verdict.
Trump’s lawyers asked a judge on Friday to sign off on an agreement to transfer $5,550,000 to a court-managed account that would go to columnist E Jean Carroll, who won a civil lawsuit against the ex-president.
Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room and defaming her. A grand jury in May found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carrol and awarded her $5million.
Trump quickly appealed the verdict.
Should Trump win his appeal, he will have his security deposit returned ‘with any interest earned on such funds’ while they were held in the court-controlled account, according to a joint stipulation submitted by lawyers for Trump and Carroll.
Advice columnist E Jean Carroll was awarded $5million in her civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump (Picture: Reuters)
The funds will stay in the account until the award to Carroll ‘becomes final and un-appealable’, the filing states.
It is not uncommon for courts to require that 111% of an award be set aside while a judgment is being appealed. The judge had not ruled on the trust account proposal as of late afternoon Friday.
On June 8, Trump’s lawyers asked for a new trial, arguing that the jury’s award of $2million for finding he sexually abused Carroll was ‘excessive’ since they did not determine that he raped her. Carroll was awarded $3million for proving her defamation claim.
Ex-President Donald Trump has appealed a jury’s verdict that awarded E Jean Carroll $5million (Picture: Reuters)
Trump faces possibly being ordered to pay Carroll even more money.
The advice columnist has another lawsuit against Trump that is pending. She alleges that he defamed her with statements in 2019 denying her claims that he raped her in the Bergdorf Goodman fitting room in the mid-1990s.
District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan has scheduled that trial to start on January 15.
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Ex-President Donald Trump has taken the first step toward paying sex abuse accuser E Jean Carroll her $5million award.