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Former President Donald Trump's lawyer Alina Habba is pleading with a New York court to prevent former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll from receiving the tens of millions that she was awarded in a defamation lawsuit against Trump.
Carroll, who alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her at an upscale New York City department store in the 1990s, was granted $83.3 million by a jury after winning her lawsuit in January, in addition to the $5 million that she was awarded in an initial defamation trial last year.
Habba called the larger amount "egregiously excessive" in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Friday, shortly after she filed a motion urging U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to pause Trump's obligation to pay the judgment.
The Context
Trump was ordered to pay the $83.3 million by Kaplan on January 26. The judge officially registered the judgment on February 8, giving Trump 30 days to pay the full amount or file an appeal, which would require him to obtain a bond of the same value.
The former president has repeatedly maintained his innocence in all of his ongoing legal troubles, which include multiple civil cases and four criminal cases that include 91 felony charges. Trump claims to be the victim of political "persecution" as he seeks a return to the White House in November's presidential election.
Only one day before Habba filed her motion in the Carroll case, Trump's legal team tried and failed to convince New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to pause payment of the $355 million he was fined after being found liable for business fraud in a separate civil case.
Some observers have suggested that the former president is especially eager to pause payments because he may not have the liquid assets required to pay all of the judgments that he currently owes, which amount to more than $500 million when interest is included. Trump's legal team says that he does have the funds.
What We Know
Habba said the following in a statement emailed to Newsweek: "The figure awarded to Ms. Carroll is egregiously excessive. The Court must exercise its authority to prevent ... this absurd judgment, which will not withstand appeal."
In a memorandum filed in court alongside her motion on Friday, the Trump lawyer wrote that Kaplan should stay the judgment until at least 30 days after "forthcoming post-trial motions, which will be filed no later than March 7."
Habba argued that her coming motions were "very likely" to reduce the amount owed to Carroll, which she claimed was "plainly excessive" and in violation of "both the Constitution and the federal common law."
She also urged Kaplan to authorize Trump to pay a "substantially reduced bond" to launch an appeal, while maintaining that the ex-president does have money to pay the judgment.
Newsweek reached out for comment to Carroll lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who is unrelated to the judge, via email on Friday night.
Views
George Washington University law professor Stephen Saltzburg told Newsweek earlier this week that Trump would likely lose any appeal of the Carroll judgment because his lawyers have done little to counter the claims against the ex-president.
"Carroll's lawyers presented expert testimony regarding the amount of money that will be required to restore her reputation," Saltzburg said. "Trump's lawyers didn't do much, if anything, to counter that testimony."
In a recent column in conservative magazine National Review, lawyer Andrew McCarthy said he expected Trump's New York business fraud penalty to be eventually reduced but the former president was "unlikely" to achieve any large victory on appeal.
Habba insisted an appeal would be successful while issuing a pointed response to McCarthy in a Fox News interview, saying that she would "welcome him to be part of the legal team if he knows the case better than the team that tried it for 11 weeks."
What's Next?
If Habba's motion is not granted in the Carroll case, the former president will have no choice but to pay the full amount of the judgment or secure the bond required for his expected appeal. A similar deadline is approaching concerning the much larger fine issued in the New York business fraud case.
While Trump's team says that he has the cash required to pay his judgments or secure bonds for appeal, he would likely be able to pay even if that is not the case—possibly by taking more drastic measures like selling off some of his fixed assets, which include his signature real estate holdings in New York City.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more