Episode summary
Host Ben Meiselas and legal analyst Harry Litman discuss Donald Trump's relentless attempts to delay paying E. Jean Carroll the $5 million jury award from her sexual assault and defamation case. After the Supreme Court denied Trump's petition for certiorari without dissent in June, Trump immediately filed for a rehearing—a motion that has not succeeded at the Supreme Court since 1965. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York issued a scathing order rejecting Trump's stalling tactics, stating that Trump has been delaying the case for years and it is time for him to pay the judgment. Trump then sought an emergency stay from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied his motion in a one-sentence order. The episode reveals significant internal turmoil at Sullivan and Cromwell, one of the country's most prestigious law firms now representing Trump. The firm's leadership had promised partners it would only handle Trump's business cases and avoid his sexual abuse appeals, but has since broken that promise, leading to talk of a potential mass exodus of partners who feel the firm's reputation is being damaged. Litman, who clerked for two Supreme Court justices, explained that Trump's petition for rehearing is utterly frivolous and that his tactics now associate him in judges' minds with the most extreme pro-se litigants. The discussion emphasizes how New York's bond requirement prevented Trump from hiding assets, ensuring Carroll will receive her judgment plus interest. Litman predicts Trump will ultimately owe Carroll approximately $105-110 million when the larger $83.3 million defamation judgment is included with accrued interest.
