Writer E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers urge judge to reject Trump’s request to postpone $83.3M jury award

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for E. Jean Carroll urged a judge Thursday to reject former President Donald Trump’s efforts to avoid posting security to secure an $83.3 million defamation award won by the writer, saying his promises to pay a judgment his lawyers predict will be overturned on appeal are the equivalent of scribbles on a paper napkin.

“The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than ‘trust me,’” the lawyers wrote in a submission to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over a trial that ended late last month with the hefty judgment.

Since then, a Manhattan state judge has imposed a $454 million civil fraud penalty against the Republican presidential front-runner after concluding that Trump, his company and top executives, including sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., schemed for years to cheat banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. An appellate judge on Wednesday refused to halt collection of the award.

Last week, Trump’s lawyers asked Kaplan to suspend the defamation award, citing a “strong probability” that it would be reduced or eliminated on appeal.

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