Poli Alert Politics & Civics
Related Articles
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the release of more than $5.8 million to writer E. Jean Carroll after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear President Donald Trump’s appeal of a 2023 civil judgment that found he sexually abused and defamed her.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan directed that Carroll receive the original $5 million jury award, along with roughly $800,000 in accrued interest, from a court escrow account after the Supreme Court last week refused to review the case.
The ruling marks the latest legal setback for Trump in the long-running civil litigation stemming from Carroll’s allegations that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996.
Kaplan rejected Trump’s request to delay payment while his attorneys seek reconsideration from the Supreme Court, writing that the president had already prolonged the case for years.
“He’s been stalling this case for years,” Kaplan wrote. “A jury unanimously concluded that he sexually abused and defamed plaintiff and awarded her damages accordingly. The judgment on that verdict has been upheld on appeal.”
“It’s time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment,” the judge added.
Trump appeals payment order
Trump’s attorneys quickly filed a notice of appeal of Kaplan’s order and asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to temporarily block the release of the funds.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team criticized the decision in a statement.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations, maintaining that he did not know her and that the alleged encounter never occurred.
Carroll sought immediate payment
Carroll’s attorneys argued that their client had already waited long enough to receive the damages awarded by the jury.
They noted that Trump’s legal team had previously agreed in 2023 that the funds could be released if the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal.
Trump’s lawyers argued the escrow should remain frozen while they ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its refusal to hear the case, a process that could take several months.
They contended that Carroll, now 82, would suffer only a temporary delay while continuing to earn interest, whereas Trump could face an “unrecoverable loss” if Carroll distributes the money before any future ruling.
According to court filings, Trump’s attorneys argued Carroll has publicly stated she intends to donate the money, making it difficult to recover if the judgment were later overturned.
Carroll’s legal team responded that Trump appeared to be attempting “to buy time” by raising new legal arguments after exhausting previous appeals.
Case stems from 1996 assault allegation
The lawsuit originated after Carroll publicly accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan during an encounter in 1996.
She filed a defamation lawsuit after Trump denied the allegations while serving as president, calling them a “con job” and a “hoax.”
A federal jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her through those public statements, awarding her $5 million in damages.
Although the jury concluded Trump sexually abused Carroll, it did not find that she proved rape under New York law.
Additional legal battle continues
The $5 million judgment is separate from another civil defamation case in which a federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in January 2024 for additional defamatory statements Trump made after leaving office.
A federal appeals court upheld that larger verdict earlier this year, and Trump’s legal team has indicated it intends to ask the Supreme Court to review that case as well.
Trump’s attorneys argued that the unresolved appeal in the $83.3 million case should influence the Supreme Court’s handling of the earlier judgment because both involve questions surrounding presidential immunity.
They contend the jury in the $5 million trial improperly considered statements Trump made while president that they believe should have been excluded under the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential immunity decision.
The Supreme Court has not indicated whether it will consider Trump’s forthcoming appeal in the larger defamation judgment.
Following the Supreme Court’s refusal last week to hear the $5 million appeal, Trump vowed on social media to continue fighting what he described as a politically motivated case.
