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Trump-Carroll Defamation Trial Updates What to Know An Anonymous Jury Who Is E. Jean Carroll? Her Accusations

Trump Will Be Able to Wait to Pay

Full $83.3 Million Until All Appeals
Are Exhausted
Donald J. Trump — the rare defendant who can afford a
judgment of this size — could secure a bond to cover it while his
appeals play out.
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Donald J. Trump on Friday in Midtown before heading to court for the final day of his
defamation trial. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

By Ben Protess and Maggie Haberman

Jan. 26, 2024 Updated 6:44 p.m. ET

Donald J. Trump might one day have to pay E. Jean Carroll the
$83.3 million she was awarded, but that day is not today.

Mr. Trump called the jury’s decision “Absolutely ridiculous!” and

vowed to appeal the verdict, a process that could take months or
more.

And while he is waiting for an appellate court to rule, Mr. Trump

need not cut Ms. Carroll a check.

Yet the former president is still on the hook to pay something —

possibly a sizable sum — while he waits.

Mr. Trump can pay the $83.3 million to the court, which will hold
the money while the appeal is pending. This is what he did last
year when a jury ordered him to pay Ms. Carroll $5.5 million in a
related case.

Or, Mr. Trump can try to secure a bond, which will save him from
having to pay the full amount up front.

A bond might require him to pay a deposit and offer collateral, and
would come with interest and fees. It would also require Mr. Trump
to find a financial institution willing to lend him a large sum of
money at a time when he is in significant legal jeopardy.

Although Mr. Trump likes to boast of his billions, much of his

wealth is linked to the value of his properties, and he is loath to
part with vast sums of cash at once.

And when it comes to his varied legal expenses — of which there

are many — he tries to avoid spending his own money at all. Mr.
Trump has tapped his political action committee’s coffers to pay for
his own legal fees and other expenses stemming from his criminal
indictments and civil trials.
 Yet $83.3 million eclipses the amount in his political accounts. The
verdict on Friday will require Mr. Trump to reach into his own
pocket.

Still, if the verdict survives Mr. Trump’s appeals, Ms. Carroll should
eventually be paid, according to Bruce Green, director of the Louis
Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham University.

“He’s the rare defendant with an $83 million verdict against him
who actually has the money,” Mr. Green said. “Wherever this lands,
she should be able to collect.”

He has enough cash to cover the verdict in various accounts, a

person close to him said. In recent years, Mr. Trump has unloaded
several assets, including his Washington hotel, which sold for $375
million.

Yet the verdict on Friday is not the only payout upcoming for Mr.
Trump. The New York attorney general is seeking a $370 million
penalty from the former president and his family business as part
of a civil fraud trial that wrapped up this month.

The judge in that case is expected to issue a decision in the coming

weeks. If Mr. Trump is ordered to pay hundreds of millions of
dollars, it is unclear whether he would have to sell another asset to
make a payment like that.

Claire Fahy contributed reporting.

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption.
He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump
and his allies. More about Ben Protess
Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent reporting on the 2024 presidential
campaign, down ballot races across the country and the investigations into former
President Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman

Share full article

Trump-Carroll Defamation Trial

The jury orders Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million after years of insults.

Judge Lewis Kaplan is known for his intellect and command of the
courtroom.

After walking out, Trump came back to hear himself defended.

Who is Alina Habba, the lawyer for Donald Trump?

Trump walked out of the courtroom during the closing argument by

Carroll’s lawyer.

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