Judge Kaplan Rejects Trump Bid to Delay $5.8 Million Carroll Payment

Q: Could this payment delay be a tactical move related to the separate $83 million case and its immunity questions?

Yes, it could be a tactical delay tied to the separate $83 million case, though Trump’s lawyers publicly frame it as a routine request after a change in counsel. The timing is what fuels that suspicion. The Supreme Court has now declined to hear Trump’s appeal in the $5 million case, making that judgment effectively final and payable. Carroll’s lawyers argue there is little practical reason to delay because the money is already secured in escrow and Trump had months to prepare for counsel changes. They say the extension request fits a broader pattern of trying to slow collection while other avenues remain open. That broader avenue is the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment, which is still moving through appeals and could eventually reach the Supreme Court. Carroll’s side has said Trump may try to seek rehearing in the first case and align it procedurally with the larger one, potentially to postpone payment or create leverage. The immunity issue matters mainly in the $83 million case, not the $5 million one. Under existing Supreme Court precedent, presidents have immunity for official acts but not for private conduct or pre-presidential conduct. The $5 million judgment arose from findings about a 1996 assault and a 2019 denial, while any immunity argument would more plausibly attach to statements made while Trump was in office during his first term. That makes consolidation or delay a conceivable strategy, but not a clearly strong legal one.

Q: If the $5.8 million judgment is already secured, what legal maneuvers could still delay the final payment?

Yes. Even though the money is already secured in escrow, Trump can still try to slow the transfer through post-judgment procedure. The most immediate tactic is the one already underway: asking the court for more time before responding to Carroll’s motion to compel payment. That does not undo the judgment, but it can postpone the order directing the escrowed funds to be released. His lawyers could also file a petition for rehearing after the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case, or seek other post-judgment relief in the lower courts. Such filings rarely succeed, but they can consume time while courts dispose of them. A broader delay strategy could come from linking this case to the separate $83 million Carroll defamation judgment that is still moving through appeals. Carroll’s lawyers say Trump may try to coordinate or consolidate proceedings, especially if he raises arguments tied to presidential-immunity questions over statements made while in office. That would not reopen the already-final $5 million verdict on the merits, but it could complicate enforcement timing. He could also seek a stay of enforcement tied to any new filing, though that would be harder now that the Supreme Court has declined review and the funds are already posted. In practical terms, the judgment appears protected; the remaining fight is less about whether Carroll will be paid than about how long Trump can delay the court order releasing the money.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 4

Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Donald Trump’s request for extra time to answer E. Jean Carroll’s bid to collect nearly $5.8 million, ordering him to respond by July 7.
The ruling came days after the Supreme Court refused to review the 2023 civil verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her by calling her claims a “con job.”
Trump said new lawyer Josh Halpern needed time after former lead counsel Justin Smith left following his confirmation to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Carroll’s lawyers asked the Manhattan federal court on June 30 to release the award plus accrued interest, arguing Trump was being “dilatory” and that the case had reached “the end of the line.”
A separate Carroll case still remains on appeal after a Manhattan jury awarded her $83.3 million in 2024 for Trump’s 2019 denials.