'They are scrambling': Donald Trump denied brief shield from $83.3 million Carroll verdict

Former President Donald Trump lost his bid on Thursday for a three-day shield from E. Jean Carroll trying to collect on her $83.3 million federal defamation verdict.

Without a court order to protect him, Carroll can begin trying to collect on the $83.3 million judgment next week if Trump hasn't posted a sufficient bond or deposit with the court.

The likely Republican presidential nominee asked New York federal Judge Lewis Kaplan on Feb. 23 to block Carroll from going after the money until 30 days after Kaplan rules on Trump's post-trial motions, including a request for the court to give Trump a win despite the jury's verdict and a request for a new trial.

As the clock ran down without a ruling on that request, Trump asked the court Wednesday to block Carroll from collecting until three business days after the court rules on his Feb. 23 request, saying he would need time "to finalize bond arrangements" if the court rules against him.

"Mr. Trump's current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions," Kaplan wrote in the Thursday order denying that three-day request.

Trump had since Jan. 26 to organize his finances while knowing he might need to post a bond, and yet he waited until 25 days after the jury's verdict to ask for the more lengthy shield, Kaplan said.

'It's clear that they are scrambling'

"It's clear that they are scrambling with regard to what they will do in the absence of getting a stay from Judge Kaplan," said Mitchell Epner, a former federal prosecutor and New York litigator who focuses on commercial and white collar issues.

Epner added that Trump's heated requests even for just short-term protection were "kind of bizarre" given it would take Carroll, at a minimum, a number of days to collect. She would need to get orders that, for example, would allow law enforcement to seize Trump's property or force a bank to turn over his assets, he said.

"It's not as if she can literally just show up and take his money," Epner said.

Trump appears to be under a cash crunch as he addresses more than $500 million in court judgments, including interest, from his losses in the Carroll case and a New York civil fraud case.

Trump asked a New York appeals court on Feb. 28 to allow him to post $100 million — substantially less than the judgment he faces — and still block collection as he appeals. An appellate judge denied that request.

More wealth than cash

The $83.3 million verdict for defaming Carroll in 2019, when Trump denied her sexual assault allegations as president, builds on a $5 million judgment she won against him in May. Trump blocked Carroll from collecting on that earlier verdict during his appeal — a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and a separate instance of defamation — by placing a cash deposit plus interest with the Manhattan federal district court.

Posting the cash won't be so easy for Trump this time around, as he faces massive judgments that will become due soon. Without a court order pausing the judgments or a sufficient bond or deposit from Trump, Carroll can begin collecting on the $83.3 million judgment next week, while New York Attorney General Letitia James can begin collecting on the civil fraud judgment in late March.

The full picture of Trump's finances is murky, but his fortune was valued at $3.1 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index last year, while Forbes estimated it at $2.6 billion. Both estimates greatly exceed even the staggering judgments against Trump, but the ultra-wealthy often don't keep most of their wealth in cash.

In a court filing opposing Trump's request for a pause on collection, Carroll's legal team said the former president didn't acknowledge the risks tied to his financial situation, including the civil fraud judgment and the four criminal cases he's facing.

"He simply asks the Court to 'trust me' and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers," the Carroll team wrote.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'They are scrambling': Trump denied shield from $83 million verdict