Former President Donald Trump has secured a $91.6 million bond to cover the money he owes writer E. Jean Carroll as he appeals a Manhattan jury’s massive judgment against him for defaming her.
The bond, guaranteed by insurance giant Chubb, will allow Trump, 77, to halt the penalty from being enforced while he challenges January’s verdict at a Manhattan federal appeals court.
The former president’s personal attorney, Alina Habba, notified Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Kaplan on Friday morning that Trump had obtained the bond, ensuring Carroll would have access to the $83.3 million award in the case — plus interest — if it stands after Trump’s appeal.
Trump (Credits: The Independent)
Habba also posted a notice on the court docket that Trump’s camp has asked the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case.
Trump was ordered to pay the whopping sum at a trial to determine what damages he’d face after Kaplan found him liable for defaming Carroll, 80, whom a prior jury found Trump sexually assaulted inside a department store fitting room. Trump claimed Carroll had fabricated her allegation to get publicity, calling her a “whack job” who should “pay dearly.”
Trump’s lawyers plan to argue to the appeals court that the ex-president did not get a fair trial due to Kaplan’s rulings. “Due to the numerous prejudicial errors made at the lower level, we are highly confident that the Second Circuit will overturn this egregious judgment,” Habba said in a statement Friday.
Habba told the court about the bond the day after Kaplan denied Trump’s bid to delay the Monday deadline to make the payment, either in cash or a security bond backed by a third party.
The former commander-in-chief is facing financial pressure after he was hit with another massive judgment in a New York civil fraud case. He must either pony up or secure a bond in the coming weeks for a $454 million penalty ordered by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.
Trump’s lawyers claimed last month that it would be “impossible” for him to secure a bond in the fraud case and warned that he might have to unload properties to cover the judgment.
However, an appeals court has allowed Trump to seek a loan from a New York-regulated bank — which Engoron had barred him from doing — which could ease the burden on him to some degree.
After skipping the earlier trial in Carroll’s sexual assault and defamation lawsuit entirely, Trump attended the proceedings in the second case and was criticized by Judge Kaplan for repeatedly grousing from his seat at the defense table — and within earshot of jurors — that Carroll’s testimony was “false.”
But Trump was largely muzzled after taking the stand as a witness, testifying for less than three minutes after Kaplan stopped him — in light of last year’s verdict — from claiming not to have sexually assaulted Carroll.
Carroll’s lawyer declined to comment. According to Trump’s filing, the bond is guaranteed by the insurance giant Chubb, which has offices in Virginia and New Jersey.
