A federal judge in the United States has determined that E. Jean Carroll is entitled to receive nearly $5.8 million (approximately $8.4 million) following a jury’s finding that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996 and subsequently defamed her after she disclosed the incident publicly.
Manhattan District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the order for the payment to the former advice columnist for Elle magazine, which includes the jury’s original verdict of $5 million along with three years’ worth of accrued interest. Carroll’s legal team requested this payment after the Supreme Court opted not to hear an appeal regarding the 2023 civil case verdict, with all nine justices, including three appointed by Trump, remaining silent on the matter.
Trump has already allocated the funds to a designated account during the ongoing appeals process. However, shortly after Judge Kaplan’s ruling, his attorneys filed an appeal in the federal appeals court located in Manhattan.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team stated, “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes.” No immediate comment was provided by Carroll’s attorneys.
Trump’s legal representatives have contended that Carroll should postpone receiving her damages until after the Supreme Court reviews Trump’s renewed attempt to overturn the verdict. They argued that if Carroll were to accept the funds and the Supreme Court later ruled in Trump’s favor, it would lead to an “unrecoverable loss” for him. They emphasized that this situation could diminish public trust in the judicial process amid ongoing concerns about the perceived politicization of legal actions against Trump.
After the District Court’s ruling, Trump sought the Supreme Court’s intervention, although the court typically refrains from reconsidering cases it has previously declined to hear.
Carroll, now 82, and Trump, aged 80, have been engaged in legal disputes for nearly seven years since she first publicly accused him of raping her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan in 1996. Trump has consistently denied the allegations, labeling them as a fabrication aimed at promoting Carroll’s memoir.
In 2022, a jury awarded Carroll $5 million based on Trump’s denial, although they did not conclude that he had raped her. Subsequently, another jury in January 2024 ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages related to his earlier denial made in 2019 during his first term as president. Trump asserts that he should be granted presidential immunity concerning that denial.
In September, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld the $83.3 million verdict, and Trump plans to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, with his attorneys suggesting that a successful appeal could challenge the foundation for the earlier $5 million verdict. Carroll has accused Trump of using legal maneuvers to delay the proceedings and avoid facing accountability for his actions.
