Donald Trump argued that he is so wealthy he should not have to pay a bond to appeal the defamation ruling against writer E. Jean Carroll, as the amount required is not a deterrent for him.
In court filings on Friday, the former president's legal team requested that Judge Lewis Kaplan delay the end of the 30-day timetable in which Trump must pay $83 million—which a jury ordered him to pay Carroll in January after ruling he defamed her character while denying a sexual assault—or post a bond required to appeal the decision.
In New York, a person must pay a court a cash bond that amounts to 110 percent of the judgment to appeal the ruling of a civil case, meaning the former president would have to pay more than $91 million to challenge the defamation penalty. The court entered its final judgment on February 8, so Trump has until March 9 to pay Carroll or post the cash bond.
In their recent motion, Trump's legal team requested an unsecured stay—during which the former president would not have to pay any money—while saying Carroll "effectively conceded that she is adequately secured" after suggesting to the jury during the civil trial that Trump's personal wealth "greatly exceeds the amount of the judgment."
"Having argued to the jury that President Trump has great financial resources, Plaintiff is in no position to contradict herself now and contend that she requires the protection of a bond during the brief period while post-trial motions are pending," the motion states.
"This fact nullifies risk to the judgment creditor and weighs heavily in favor of an unsecured stay," the motion continues.
Kaplan denied the request for a stay, "much less an unsecured stay," while requesting a written response from Carroll's lawyers.
The judge set a February 29 deadline for Carroll's response and a March 2 deadline for Trump's reply.
He also noted that Trump's team waited until day 25 of the 30-day time limit before requesting a stay of enforcement of the defamation judgment.
Newsweek has contacted Trump's and Carroll's legal teams for comment via email.
Trump's lawyers also said the $91.63 million cash bond, which the former president faces while appealing the defamation ruling, is a "sizeable bond which will come with very substantial, non-recoverable financial costs."
The motion from Trump's lawyers suggested that the former president be allowed to post a lower bond based on a future judgment following their appeal.
"There is a strong probability that the disposition of post-trial motions will substantially reduce, if not eliminate, the amount of the judgment," Trump's lawyers wrote.
The legal team suggested that the court project a reduction of the total judgment to $22.25 million so that Trump could post a bond of $24.475 million, which his lawyers said "would be appropriate."
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more