Trump Seeks to Delay $5.8 Million Carroll Payment After Supreme Court Rebuff

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 · The Daily Beast · Jul 4

Trump’s new lawyer asked the court to scrap an expedited schedule for releasing $5.8 million to E. Jean Carroll, money held while his appeals over a 2023 verdict ran out.
The request cites a change of counsel after former Trump lawyer Justin Smith became an appeals judge, but Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said Trump had months to prepare and is simply stalling.
Kaplan said the timing suggests Trump wants room to pursue a rehearing petition after the Supreme Court refused review on June 29, and urged the court to keep the faster payout timetable.
The $5.8 million stems from Carroll’s 2022 lawsuit over sexual abuse and defamation; Trump is separately appealing an $83.3 million defamation verdict, leaving him owing Carroll more than $100 million with interest.