New York City, USA – Former President Donald Trump has obtained a $91.6 million bond to cover the amount he owes in a defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll, according to his lawyer. Attorney Alina Habba filed the necessary papers to demonstrate that the bond was secured from the Federal Insurance Co., a division of the insurance giant Chubb. This bond would address the $83.3 million judgment in the lawsuit, including interest.
In addition, Habba filed a notice indicating that Trump, the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee, is appealing the jury’s verdict. The bond posting is a crucial step in delaying payment of the awarded sum until the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals can rule on Trump’s legal challenge.
The filings come after Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied Trump’s request to postpone the deadline for posting a bond by Monday. This deadline ensures that Carroll, who is demanding payment, can collect the judgment if it remains intact following any appeals.
Trump currently faces financial pressure to set aside funds to cover both the Carroll defamation case and a separate lawsuit in which he was held liable for lying about his wealth in financial statements provided to banks.
Recently, a New York judge refused to withhold the collection of a $454 million civil fraud penalty while Trump appeals. He now has until March 25th to satisfy the penalty or purchase a bond to cover the entire amount. In the meantime, interest on the judgment continues to accumulate, adding approximately $112,000 per day.
Trump’s attorneys have requested a stay on appeal for this judgment, cautioning that he may need to sell some of his properties to meet the penalty.
In May of last year, a civil jury in New York found Trump guilty of sexually assaulting Carroll in 1996. Trump vehemently denies the allegations, stating that he did not know Carroll at the time and that the supposed encounter at the Bergdorf Goodman store never occurred.
The jury awarded Carroll $5 million for both the alleged assault and the damage to her reputation when Trump publicly claimed that she fabricated the incident as a publicity stunt for her memoir.
A second trial was held in January to determine the additional amount Trump might owe Carroll for derogatory comments he made about her in 2019 while he was president. Judge Kaplan instructed the jury to accept the earlier jury’s finding that the sexual abuse had indeed taken place.
Although Trump did not attend the May trial, he briefly testified and regularly sat with defense lawyers during the January trial in Manhattan. The judge threatened to remove him from the courtroom for muttering disparaging comments about the case, which could potentially be heard by the jurors.