Judge Approves $92M Bond In NY Defamation Trial as E. Jean Carroll Team Hints At New Lawsuit

A federal judge has accepted former President Donald Trump’s bond money which totals just under $100 million ahead of his appeal.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan approved the bond on Tuesday, which will now serve as a guarantee that the former president will pay out if his appeal does not overturn the verdict.

Trump posted the $92 million bond last week following a ruling that found him liable in his New York defamation case against E. Jean Carroll in January of this year.

Trump is appealing the January decision to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

The bond value is higher than the total damages due to a requirement for 110% of the judgment value to be posted during the appeal process.

Federal Insurance Company — based in Chesapeake, Virginia — provided the bond money, according to documents signed by the former president.

Trump’s lawyers said he made statements about Carroll in an effort to “defend his reputation, protect his family, and defend his Presidency.”

A jury found him liable for $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her through previous statements attacking her credibility — $18.3 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.

Carroll’s legal team has not ruled out a potential third lawsuit against the former President.

Monday morning, Trump again attacked Carroll on CNBC’s Squawk Box, trashing her as “Ms. Bergdorf Goodman, a person I’d never met” who was making a “false accusation” against him — similar wording to his insults that sparked her lawsuits in the first place.

Carroll’s attorney Kaplan reacted to Trump’s comments about her client, issuing a statement that made it clear the legal team was considering going a third round with the ex-president.

“The statute of limitations for defamation in most jurisdictions is between one and three years,” said Kaplan. “As we said after the last jury verdict, we continue to monitor every statement that Donald Trump makes about our client, E. Jean Carroll.”