NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team has requested the suspension of an $83.3 million defamation verdict against the former president, arguing that there is a high likelihood of the amount being reduced or even eliminated on appeal.
The lawyers made this request in the Manhattan federal court, where, in late January, a civil jury awarded advice columnist E. Jean Carroll the mentioned sum after a five-day trial focusing solely on damages. The jury was instructed to accept the findings of another jury from the previous year, which had concluded that Trump sexually abused Carroll in 1996 and defamed her in 2022.
The second trial exclusively addressed Trump’s statements made in 2019 while he was still president. The trial had been significantly delayed due to appeals.
In the filing submitted on Friday, Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to suspend the execution of the judgment issued on February 8 until a month after resolving Trump’s post-trial motions, which are expected to be filed by March 7. Alternatively, they suggested granting Trump a partially secured stay by requiring him to post a bond of only a fraction of the award.
The lawyers argued that the $65 million punitive damages, added to the $18.3 million compensatory damages, were “plainly excessive” as they violated the Constitution and federal common law.
They further claimed that there was a strong probability that the post-trial motions would substantially reduce or eliminate the judgment amount.
During the trial, Trump did not personally attend but was present regularly and briefly testified. His communication with the jury predominantly involved nonverbal cues such as shaking his head and making disparaging comments, which drew criticism from the prosecutor and threats of expulsion from the judge.
After the verdict in January, Trump has faced further legal troubles. In a separate case, a state court judge in New York has ordered him and his companies to pay $355 million in penalties for a scheme to deceive financial institutions and inflate his wealth. Including interest, Trump now owes the state nearly $454 million.
Both Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, and Alina Habba, one of Trump’s attorneys, declined to comment on the recent request for suspension.
The court will ultimately have to decide whether or not to grant the suspension and determine the final outcome of this legal battle.