The federal judge who oversaw former President Donald Trump‘s New York defamation trial on Thursday denied his request to delay the $83.3 million payment he owes E. Jean Carroll.
The decision came hours after Trump was ordered by a London judge to pay $382,000 to a company founded by former British spy Christopher Steele that the former president unsuccessfully sued over making claims that he said harmed his reputation.
In January, jurors sided with Carroll that Trump had defamed her by denying he had sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s in a Manhattan department store. Last month, Judge Lewis Kaplan gave Trump 30 days to post bond or make the payment during his appeal.
Trump’s lawyers have said his bond amount would total $91.63 million while he appeals the verdict.
In May, a separate jury also found Trump sexually abused Carroll but did not rape her as defined by state law and awarded her $5 million in damages.
“This is a continuation of a totally lawless witch hunt,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement of Kaplan’s Thursday decision. “President Trump filed a timely motion to stay the ridiculous judgment, and many courts, including the Second Circuit, recognize the importance of temporary administrative stays while such motions are considered. We look forward to continuing to litigate the case and to complete vindication of the truth.”
Trump was not a defendant in the U.K. case, in which he sued Orbis. Steele, a former member of the British Secret Intelligence Service, is the founder of Orbis. In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, Steele was paid by Democrats for information on allegations that Trump had links to Russia, and he assembled what became known as the “Steele dossier” of since-discredited accusations regarding Trump.
Trump sued Orbis, claiming the company had run afoul of British data protection laws. An attorney for Trump also argued he had “suffered personal and reputational damage” from Steele’s accusations.
However, Judge Karen Steyn sided with Orbis, arguing the dossier was not meant to be public and that Trump filed his claim late.
Trump also owes a hefty penalty in a civil fraud case after New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his companies to pay $355 million in penalties after Trump was found to have inflated his assets to get more favorable business loans. With interest, that amount reaches $454 million.
Trump has maintained his innocence in all cases against him and has claimed legal actions against him are politically motivated.
