Trump wants E. Jean Carroll to return the $5.6 million she won in the sexual abuse and defamation case
Three years after E. Jean Carroll was awarded $5 million in a civil trial after claiming she was sexually abused by US president Donald Trump, she has finally been paid - but now Trump's lawyers are demanding she return the money.
The Independent reports that his attorneys have filed an emergency injunction in a bid to get the money back, which Carroll, 82, was awarded just two weeks ago.
Carroll's award came after a federal jury successfully found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s in a department store changing room, along with agreeing that he had defamed her, in a 2023 civil trial.
Trump has always denied the allegations. The jury rejected allegations Trump raped Carroll in the trial.
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The money - now $5.6 million thanks to interest - was sent to Carroll from an escrow account as part of the proceedings overseen by the court.
This payment had already been delayed for quite some time, coming three years after the jury found the president civilly liable.
Judge Lewis Kaplan accused Trump of delaying the case and 'stalling' for years.
In his ruling, he wrote: “Defendant has been stalling this case for years. A jury unanimously concluded that he sexually abused and defamed plaintiff and awarded her damages accordingly. The judgment on that verdict has been upheld on appeal.”
He added that the U.S Supreme Court declined to review the case.
The judge stressed 'it is time' for Trump to 'pay the judgment' in the 8 July ruling.
Carroll's lawyers have hit back and called Trump's attempt to claw back the money 'improper' and 'meritless' in court documents seen by Tyla.
The documents were filed with the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit on Monday 20 July.
Carroll's team called Trump’s emergency injunction request 'procedurally improper, substantively meritless, and yet another example of Defendant’s pattern of ‘slow-roll[ing] his defenses, asserting or inventing a new one each time his prior effort to delay the case fails.’”
“But rather than accept the reality that he had lost, [Trump] has engaged in a series of maneuvers trying desperately to forestall payment,” they added.
Carroll's sexual abuse allegations first emerged in her 2019 memoir, which Trump vehemently denied.
He insisted the case was 'fake', and that he has never met Carroll.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to ‘review’ a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met."
"I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.”
He finished by writing: "This Injustice cannot be allowed to stand!”
In a statement issued to The New York Times, a spokesperson for Trump, Aaron Harison said: "The American people stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the witch hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll hoaxes.
"President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again," he finished.
Topics: Donald Trump, Money, Politics, US News
Jen Thomas