President Donald Trump will not have to pay an $83 million defamation award to writer E. Jean Carroll while the U.S. Supreme Court considers his appeal, under a ruling Tuesday by a federal appeals court that requires him to post a $7.4 million bond. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to delay enforcement of the judgment, granting a request by Trump’s lawyer, Justin D. Smith, despite the court having refused last month to reconsider a panel decision that upheld the verdict.
The $83 million award, handed down by a jury in January 2024, found Trump liable for repeatedly defaming Carroll after she publicly accused him of sexual assault. Carroll, now 82, said Trump attacked her in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in spring 1996. Trump has denied the allegation and called her claims a “made up scam.”
A separate jury in May 2023 had already awarded Carroll $5 million, concluding that Trump sexually abused her and then defamed her in statements after she published her account in a 2019 memoir. The judge instructed the later jury to accept those findings.
The 2nd Circuit panel wrote last September that Trump continued his attacks against Carroll for at least five years, making them “more extreme and frequent as the trial approached.” The court noted that during the trial itself, Trump said he would continue to defame Carroll “a thousand times.”
Smith argued last week that there is a “fair prospect” the Supreme Court will find in Trump’s favor. Trump is challenging the verdict on several grounds, including an assertion of “absolute immunity” for comments he made while president, as he disavowed knowing Carroll and suggested her motivations were political or driven by a desire to promote her memoir.
The 2nd Circuit’s stay means Trump avoids immediate payment while the high court decides whether to hear the case. If the Supreme Court declines review or upholds the verdict, the judgment will come due with additional interest costs covered by the bond.