After years of litigation, Donald Trump and his legal team are continuing their efforts to delay E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit and implicate her attorney Roberta Kaplan in the process.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who has no relation to Roberta Kaplan, recently granted Carroll’s motion to expedite briefing on her request to release funds held in court escrow since May 2023.
The funds, totalling nearly $5.8 million, have been held by the court following the first jury verdict that found Trump sexually assaulted and defamed Carroll.
That original jury awarded Carroll a $5 million verdict, with statutory interest also placed into escrow as part of a stipulation agreed to by both parties at the time.
The stipulation specified that the funds would remain in escrow until the final disposition of the case, a moment that now appears to have arrived following the Supreme Court’s decision.
On June 29, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s petition for certiorari, with no known dissents recorded among the justices, effectively closing that avenue of appeal.
With the Supreme Court declining to hear the case, Carroll’s legal team moved swiftly to push for the release of the escrowed funds that have been held for several years.
Trump’s side, however, continues to contest proceedings, with efforts ongoing to both delay payment and apply pressure to Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan.
The broader legal saga between Trump and Carroll has been one of the most closely watched civil cases in recent American legal history, spanning multiple trials and appeals.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the petition marked a significant moment in the case, signalling that Carroll’s legal victory at the jury level has now withstood the highest level of judicial scrutiny available.
Carroll’s team now awaits the court’s ruling on the expedited briefing request, which could determine when the nearly $5.8 million in escrowed funds is finally disbursed to her.
The case continues to draw attention not only for its legal complexity but also for the sustained pressure being applied to those representing Carroll throughout the proceedings.