Judge denies Trump's request to delay due date of $83.3 million penalty

New York: A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday declined Donald Trump's request to temporarily block writer E. Jean Carroll from collecting an $83.3 million civil defamation judgment against him while the judge considers his request for a longer delay.

The ruling, only four paragraphs long, comes just days before Carroll will be allowed to begin taking action to collect her award, one of two civil judgments totaling more than half a billion dollars that the former president is seeking to delay while he pursues appeals in both cases.

Seeking to block Carroll from collecting on March 11, the former president last month asked the judge, Lewis Kaplan of U.S. District Court, to push back the due date until after he had ruled on Trump's request to have the verdict thrown out and be granted a new trial.

On Wednesday, the former president's lawyers made a new request: that the judge not let Carroll begin to collect until the judge has ruled on Trump's earlier request for a delay.

But on Thursday, the judge -- who presided over Carroll's trial, which ended Jan. 26 -- said in an order that Trump's professed need for a so-called administrative stay was the former president's own fault.

"Mr. Trump's current situation is a result of his own dilatory actions," Kaplan wrote. "He has had since Jan. 26 to organize his finances."

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, declined to comment.

The fight over the judgment is just one of many legal and financial entanglements the former president is facing. He faces four criminal prosecutions, with the first trial beginning March 25 in Manhattan. And as he faces the prospect of time behind bars, he also must find the money to satisfy the judgments against him.

In a separate case, Trump faces a judgment of more than $450 million levied by a New York state judge in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James. The judge, Arthur Engoron, sided with James, concluding that Trump had fraudulently inflated his net worth to reap favorable loan terms and other financial benefits.

To prevent James from seizing his assets while he appeals Engoron's ruling, Trump must either come up with the more than $450 million or secure a bond from an outside company. The same requirement applies to the $83.3 million judgment in the defamation case.

The bond is a promise from the company offering it to cover Trump's judgment if he loses his appeal and fails to pay. In exchange, Trump must pay the company a fee and pledge collateral, including as much cash as possible.

Trump recently asked a state appeals court to accept only a $100 million bond in the civil fraud case. It would be "impossible" to obtain a bond for the full amount, which is $454 million and counting with interest, Trump's lawyers said.

A single appeals court judge turned down his request, but Trump can try again next month with a full panel of five appellate court judges.

Unless that panel cuts him a break, Trump will need to post a bond for the full amount by March 25, the day his first criminal trial begins.