Donald Trump has managed to secure a $91.6 million bond to delay paying the verdict in a defamation case filed against him by E. Jean Carroll. This move comes as Trump campaigns for a return to the White House amidst various legal challenges. The bond, arranged by Chubb Ltd.’s Federal Insurance Co., covers 110% of the $83.3 million awarded against Trump by a New York jury in January. His lawyer, Alina Habba, confirmed this in a court filing on Friday in Manhattan.
Trump faced a March 11 deadline to either pay the verdict or post a bond. The former president is facing financial pressure after losing two significant trials. Apart from the Carroll case, a judge ordered Trump to pay $454 million to New York state for inflating his net worth to obtain better loan terms. He is required to post a bond in that case by March 25.
In addition to securing the bond, Trump filed a notice of appeal in the Carroll case on Friday. He also requested the court to put the verdict on hold during the appeal process, a request that is supported by posting the bond. This is a common practice in courts to ensure that the money is available to pay the winner of the trial if the appeal fails.
Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, referred to the judgment as “baseless” and part of a “Democrat-funded Carroll Witch Hunt.” On the other hand, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, declined to comment on the matter.
The defamation case stems from Carroll’s claim in 2019 that Trump raped her in the 1990s. Trump denied the allegation and accused her of lying to sell a book and advance a political agenda, leading Carroll to sue him for defamation. She argued that she suffered emotional distress and damage to her reputation due to Trump’s statements.
Trump contends that the verdict is likely to be reduced on appeal because Carroll’s reputation wasn’t as damaged as she claims, and because her fame increased after Trump’s accusations.
Despite objections from Carroll, the judge allowed Trump to delay posting the bond. However, the judge criticized Trump’s lawyers for delaying their request and noted that Trump had ample time to organize his finances since the jury verdict in January.
The $91.6 million bond covers compensation for harm to Carroll’s reputation and punitive damages to penalize Trump and deter him from engaging in future defamation.
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