Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. So, it seems like E Jean Carroll, a former magazine writer, just received a whopping $5,625,005.48 from President Donald Trump as part of a damages award. This whole thing has been going on for three years, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. Apparently, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll back in 2020, and now she’s finally getting her money. Bless their hearts, Trump’s lawyers are still trying to fight this thing, but it looks like the Supreme Court has rejected their request to hear the case.
So, here’s the deal. Trump tried to stop the payment by arguing that it shouldn’t go through until the Supreme Court decides whether to rehear his petition. But, the Supreme Court has not responded, and Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the payment to go through anyway. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up, right? The transfer to Carroll’s attorneys was confirmed on the court docket on Tuesday, and Carroll’s lawyers said she’ll use the money to fund her retirement. She’s 82, by the way, so I guess she’s earned it.
Now, Trump’s attorneys are trying to get a federal appeals court to intervene and stop the transfer. They asked the court to issue an injunction if the funds were disbursed and order the transfer of funds back to a court-controlled account while the appeal plays out. But, the federal appeals court denied a request for an emergency stay, and has not addressed the latest effort. Somewhere in Atlanta, a producer thought this sounded terrifying, and now we’ve got a whole CNN article about it.
Carroll’s lawyers, who are paid on a contingency basis, will not take legal fees from the award. That’s nice of them, I suppose. Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney, said in a statement, “Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.” I guess that’s a win for Carroll, but this whole thing is just a mess.
Carroll was not the first woman to accuse Trump of sexual abuse, but she took her civil lawsuit to trial and testified in open court in detail about Trump sexually abusing her in a New York department store in the mid 1990s. Trump did not attend the first trial, but he forcefully denied assaulting Carroll in public. The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation for statements he made denying her allegations of sexual assault. And, of course, Trump called Carroll a “whack job” and called her allegations a “fake story” during a CNN town hall. Because, why not, right?
In the end, Carroll received $5 million in damages, and then another $83 million in damages after a second trial. Trump said he will file a petition with the Supreme Court to ask them to consider his arguments related to presidential immunity. The brief is due at the end of the month, so we’ll see how that plays out. But, for now, it looks like Carroll is getting her money, and Trump is getting a big fat bill. As I always say, you can’t make this stuff up, folks. And, on that note, I’m going to go refill my coffee cup, because this story is just getting started.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
