Former President Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll, the magazine columnist who accused him of sexual assault, are engaged in a legal battle over delaying the posting of bond in Carroll's defamation trial. Trump's lawyers argue that Carroll's opposition to the delay is inconsistent and undermine her previous claims regarding his wealth.

Carroll, who is seeking $83.3 million in damages, opposed Trump's request for a delay in posting bond on Thursday, claiming that he had not provided sufficient evidence of his financial status. She called Trump the "least trustworthy of borrowers" and questioned his ability to satisfy the judgment.

Responding to Carroll's opposition, Trump's lawyers argued that her current position is inconsistent with her previous claim that Trump, with $14 billion in assets, could easily pay the punitive award. They pointed out that Carroll's doubt regarding Trump's ability to pay the damages is contradictory to her earlier stance.

Last month, Trump requested a 30-day extension to post bond or put up cash to cover the verdict until motions challenging the size of the damages are decided. Trump's attorneys have announced that post-trial briefs will be filed within five days.

Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the defamation case, allowed Trump 30 days to post a bond to appeal after making the jury verdict official on February 8. If Kaplan denies Trump's request, the former president would need to post the bond in less than two weeks.

In their response, Trump's lawyers requested that, in case the judge does not delay the posting of judgment, Trump be allowed to post bond of $24.4 million, stating that it would be more than enough to secure any minimal risk to Carroll.

Trump's attorneys plan to argue in the post-trial motions that the punitive damages awarded to Carroll were excessive and should be reduced. They also challenge the size of the other damages awarded to Carroll in the defamation case.

Carroll's lawyers objected to the delay, pointing to Trump's complicated financial condition. Last month, a judge in the New York attorney general's civil fraud case entered a $454 million judgment against Trump, adding to the total of over half a billion dollars that the former president owes in judgments. Trump's request to delay the timing of the bond was denied by an appellate judge on Wednesday.

The clash between Trump and Carroll centers around the delay in posting bond and the transparency of Trump's finances. As the legal battle intensifies, the final resolution remains to be seen.