Trump’s Long Fight With E. Jean Carroll Just Took Another Turn

President Donald Trump has paid more than $5.6 million owed to E. Jean Carroll after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in the 2023 sexual abuse and defamation case, closing one chapter of the legal battle while a separate $83 million judgment remains under appeal.

Court records filed Tuesday show $5.625 million — including accrued interest — was released to Carroll on July 9 after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the funds disbursed.

The money had been held in the court’s registry investment system while Trump pursued his appeals. 

Trump’s legal team sought to delay the payment, arguing the funds should remain in escrow while it asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. Kaplan rejected that request and ordered the money released.

“Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict,” Carroll attorney Roberta Kaplan said in a statement.

Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations and has maintained the case was politically motivated.

The case stems from Carroll’s claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. 

In May 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. With interest accrued during the appeals process, the judgment grew to more than $5.6 million.

Last month, the Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the lower court’s judgment intact. Following that decision, Trump vowed to continue fighting.

“Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to ‘review’ a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case.”

Trump and Carroll remain embroiled in a second lawsuit. In January 2024, another federal jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million after finding he defamed her through statements made while serving as president in 2019.

Trump is expected to seek Supreme Court review of that judgment as well. Until then, that separate award remains tied up in the appeals process.