A US federal appeals court has dismissed former President Donald Trump’s recent bid to postpone the payment of $5.8 million to writer E. Jean Carroll. This payment is a result of her victorious 2023 lawsuit against Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. The judgment includes the initial $5 million award, which has grown due to interest accumulated over the appeals period.
This ruling comes in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision not to entertain Trump’s appeal, thereby upholding the original judgment. The funds in question have been held in a court-controlled account during the legal proceedings, and a lower court had previously ordered their release. Trump’s challenge to this order has now been overruled by the federal appeals court.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, overseeing the case, remarked that the legal avenues have been thoroughly explored, and the time has come for the judgment to be executed. Despite the court’s decision, Trump maintains his denial of all allegations and continues to dispute the legal understanding of the terms related to the fund’s release.
The legal battle stems from Carroll’s lawsuit, which accused Trump of sexual abuse and defamation, resulting in a favorable ruling for her earlier this year. Trump’s attempts to delay the monetary judgment have now reached a definitive end with the appeals court’s latest decision.