Donald Trump (pictured) has obtained a bond sufficient to cover an $83.3mn penalty as the former president appeals a jury’s verdict in a sexual assault defamation case, court documents showed yesterday.
On January 26 Trump was ordered by a jury in New York to compensate the writer E Jean Carroll, whom he was found to have sexually assaulted and defamed, a decision he is now challenging in a higher court.
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba said that he had obtained a bond of $91.6mn, according to a document filed with a Manhattan court.
He was ordered to pay $65mn in punitive damages after the jury found Trump acted maliciously in his many public comments about Carroll, $7.3mn in compensatory damages and $11mn for a reputational repair programme.
Trump was required to either post the full amount of the compensation as he appeals, or a bond that could be executed in the event that his challenge is unsuccessful.
The judge who oversaw the case denied his team’s application to postpone a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover the penalty, US media reported.
Trump – whom a jury found liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a separate federal civil case in New York – used his Truth Social platform to fire off a spate of insulting messages attacking Carroll, the trial and the judge, whom he called “an extremely abusive individual”.
He was not required to attend the trial or to testify.
However, he has used the case, as well as others he faces, to generate heated media coverage and to fuel his claims of being victimised as he campaigns for a return to the White House in November’s election.
Trump has also been faced with the task of securing a bond for his much larger civil fraud ruling which requires him to pay $355mn plus significant and mounting interest.
His lawyers offered a $100mn bond to partially cover that penalty as he appeals, but that was rejected by an appeals judge. – AFP
Trump tightens grip on party as daughter-in-law takes key post
Donald Trump cemented his grip on the Republican National Committee (RNC) yesterday after his daughter-in-law and another ally assumed top leadership posts amid a debate among members over whether the organisation should help pay his legal bills.
RNC members meeting in Houston voted to appoint North Carolina Republican Party head Michael Whatley and Lara Trump (pictured) as chair and co-chair of the organisation, which will play a key role in marshalling voters and funds for the November 5 general election.
The move comes after Trump swept the Super Tuesday primary contests, prompting Nikki Haley to drop out of the Republican race and all but assuring the former US president will be the nominee and face off against President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
“The goal on November 5th is to win, and as my father-in-law says ‘bigly’,” Lara Trump said, promising that “every single penny of every dollar raised” would go toward the goal of winning the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate for Republicans.
The reshuffling sees Ronna McDaniel replaced atop the organisation.
McDaniel faced criticism over fundraising and the party’s performance at the ballot box.
During her tenure, Trump was defeated in 2020, and the party turned in a weaker-than-expected performance in the 2022 congressional midterm elections.
Some RNC members have called for the committee to help pay for Trump’s legal expenses, which along with penalties have ballooned to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Neither Whatley or Lara Trump directly addressed the issue yesterday. – Reuters
Donald Trump
