Donald Trump has agreed to stop fighting in court the disbursement of E Jean Carroll’s $5m verdict in her 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against him, a procedural development as these funds were already distributed to her.
While the decision does not change anything about Carroll’s receipt of the payout, its revelation effectively means that Trump will no longer oppose the monetary outcome he had long fought.
This decision was revealed Tuesday by the United States court of appeals for the second circuit.
Trump’s second circuit fight had already been made moot by a supreme court decision not to reconsider his opposition, so this morning’s filing marked a formality.
“The parties stipulate to dismiss this appeal with prejudice … and [Trump] withdraws his motion for a stay pending appeal,” the Second Circuit said in a mandate. “The stipulation is SO ORDERED. The stay motion … is deemed WITHDRAWN.”
“He’d previously given up in district court, now he’s given up in circuit court,” said Neama Rahmani, founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, of the money-related order. “It’s a final nail in the coffin. There’s absolutely no way Trump can go after Carroll for this five million plus dollars.”
Trump in July unsuccessfully asked the second circuit to postpone disbursement of this money while he appealed a lower court’s decision mandating its distribution. The money was held in a court-administered fund pending Trump’s appeal of the 2023 verdict.
Manhattan federal court judge Lewis Kaplan on 8 July ordered disbursement of this money after the US supreme court’s 29 June decision not to review Trump’s appeal. Less than an hour after this decision, Trump asked the second circuit to grant him a stay so he could fight Kaplan’s mandate.
The second circuit rejected this request. The court-held funds, which totalled $5.8m due to accrued interest, were released on 9 July, court records dated 14 July indicate.
The supreme court in August rejected for the second time Trump’s efforts to overturn this jury verdict, denying his request for a rehearing. Trump is asking the US supreme court to throw out a second, much larger payment of $83m awarded against him for defaming Carroll in her January 2024 civil trial.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team 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,” the statement added.
