U.S. District Senior Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York on Friday denied former President Donald Trump's motion to stay E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit against him, criticizing Trump for engaging in unnecessary delay at a late stage of the case.

Trump moved for the stay pending appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after Kaplan denied his motion for summary judgment in June. Trump had attempted to bring an absolute presidential immunity defense in the summary judgment motion, but Kaplan ruled that Trump's arguments were "without merit."