Through her attorneys, E. Jean Carroll said in a Thursday court filing that she had “very serious concerns” about former President Donald Trump’s ability to raise cash to pay the $83.3 million judgment awarded her against him by a jury in January.
Trump’s legal team had filed a motion with the court seeking to delay his payment of the judgment, hoping that the amount will be reduced or even eliminated through other court proceedings.
In response, attorneys representing Carroll filed a “Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendant Donald J. Trump’s Motion to Stay Execution of the Judgment Pending Disposition of the Post-Trial Motions” in which they argue that Trump should immediately pay up in full.
“With respect to Trump’s ability to pay … Trump asks the Court to simply trust that he’s very rich — and that posting a bond (or other collateral) would therefore be a waste of money,” the filing said. “There are many reasons why this is wrong.”
“To begin, recent developments give rise to very serious concerns about Trump’s cash position and the feasibility (and ease) of collecting on the judgment in this case,” the document continued.
The attorneys were referencing the $454 million judgment against Trump, 77, in his civil fraud case, an amount that was accruing $112,000 daily in interest while it went unpaid.
Trump on Wednesday told that court that he was finding it “impossible” to obtain a bond for that amount and asked for it to be reduced to $100 million, according to The Hill.
Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth to be about $2.6 billion, although most of that is tied up in real estate that would take significant time to convert to cash.
However, Trump said in a sworn deposition in 2023 that he had “substantially in excess of $400 million in cash,” the Hill reported.
Of course, he could be in a very different cash position today — and that could change even more in the near future.
“Moreover, by the time the post-trial motions (or the appeal) are fully resolved, Trump may be in a very different position,” Carroll’s legal team wrote.
“He could then be President of the United States; he could then be a convicted criminal serving time behind bars; or, given his advanced age, Carroll may be forced to reckon with his estate. Any of these developments could substantially complicate collection efforts here.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James may begin selling off Trump’s assets if he is unable to secure a bond for the full $454 million, the court said, according to the outlet.
Interested readers can review the entire court filing below.
Carroll v Trump Filing by The Western Journal on Scribd
A federal jury awarded Carroll the $83.3 million for defaming her by calling her a liar when she claimed that he had sexually assaulted her year in the mid-1990s.
She had previously been awarded $5 million after another jury found Trump liable for the sexual assault and for a separate defamation claim, The Hill reported at the time.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
