The bond Trump owes for the E. Jean Carroll case is being held up by a single filing

Donald Trump has said that he intends to appeal the ruling in the E. Jean Carroll verdict and judgment in the libel and defamation case he lost last year -- but a single court filing seems to be holding everything up.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin sorted through the filings online and found that Trump hasn't put up a bond pending his appeal. There's a reason for that: the court judgment hasn't even been filed.

If Trump wants to appeal his case, he has to put up some of the $83.3 million awarded to Carroll by the jury. The date he must do it by hasn't been set because the court's ruling doesn't appear to have been filed yet.

"The jury reached its verdict on Jan. 26, but there is still no judgment, which is what triggers not only the deadline for posting a bond but also kicks off deadlines for post-trial motions," explained Rubin.

"And here's what's really odd," she continued. "Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court and/or the clerk of court are required to enter judgment promptly after a verdict. Indeed, Judge Lew Kaplan entered judgment in the first Carroll trial on May 11, 2023, two days after the May 9th jury verdict."

This made Rubin wonder what the hold-up was. The clock should be ticking on Trump paying his bond, and on his lawyer Alina Habba's motions that she had vowed to file.

"Note that the entry of the judgment also triggers Trump's time to file a notice of appeal," Rubin also said. "He could do so before a judgment, but there's zero advantage to doing it that way, especially because the rules treat a pre-judgment appeal as if it is filed on the date judgment is entered."

Opinions are split on whether Trump has the money to pay Carroll. While testifying in a deposition, he said he had about $400 million cash on hand, but that may not be the case anymore.

New York Times investigative reporter Susanne Craig has followed Trump's finances for years. She thinks he has the financial liquidity to pay Carroll but might not be able to handle that and the amount he could owe in the New York fraud trial.

Correction: The original version of this article mistakenly quoted Trump as testifying he had $400,000 cash on hand.