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Writer E. Jean Carroll has received more than $5.6 million in damages from President Donald Trump after prevailing in a civil lawsuit that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her, according to a court filing Monday.
The payment follows weeks of unsuccessful legal efforts by Trump to block the transfer after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider the jury’s verdict.
The more than $5.6 million includes the original $5 million jury award plus accrued interest since the 2023 judgment.
“Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll,” Carroll attorney Roberta Kaplan said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her.”
Years-long legal battle
Carroll first publicly accused Trump of raping her in a June 2019 essay published by New York Magazine, alleging the assault occurred in the dressing room of Manhattan’s Bergdorf Goodman department store during the mid-1990s.
Trump repeatedly denied the allegations, saying he did not know Carroll and calling her claims a hoax.
Carroll subsequently filed two civil lawsuits against Trump. The first resulted in a 2023 jury verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her through statements denying her allegations.
The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump fought payment until the end
After the Supreme Court declined last month to hear Trump’s appeal, his legal team launched a series of emergency motions seeking to delay payment.
Trump’s attorneys argued that he would suffer “irreparable harm” if Carroll received the money because she had publicly stated she intended to donate the award, making it difficult to recover the funds if the judgment were later overturned.
A federal district judge rejected Trump’s request to delay the payment, and the U.S. Court of Appeals later denied a similar request.
The funds were subsequently released from a court-managed escrow account.
Larger judgment still under appeal
While the payment resolves the first lawsuit, Trump continues to challenge a separate and substantially larger judgment stemming from Carroll’s second defamation case.
In January 2024, a federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million after determining Trump continued to defame her through public statements made after leaving office.
That judgment remains under appeal.
Trump continues to deny allegations
The White House referred questions Tuesday to Trump’s personal legal team, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations and has repeatedly criticized both lawsuits on social media.
During the second trial in January 2024, Trump posted on Truth Social that the litigation was “All of this HOAX run and funded by Political Operatives!!!”
Despite the payment, Trump has continued pursuing legal avenues challenging both verdicts.
Carroll plans to donate award
Carroll previously said she intended to donate the money to causes opposed by Trump, telling reporters she planned to give it to “something Trump hates.”
Her legal team did not provide updated information Tuesday about where the funds will ultimately be directed.
The payment marks one of the few instances in which Trump has been required to satisfy a civil judgment stemming from litigation involving conduct before his presidency.
