Supreme Court forces Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll $5M

• US Supreme Court declined to hear Donald Trump's appeal in the E. Jean Carroll civil case.
• The decision allows the $5 million judgment to be paid.
• Carroll's civil judgments against Trump now exceed $100 million, including a separate $83 million award.

The US Supreme Court on Monday refused to review an appeal by US President Donald Trump over a $5 million civil verdict finding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.

The high court's refusal to take up the case effectively concludes Trump's legal avenues to overturn the specific 2022 lawsuit, meaning the US president will now be required to pay the judgment.

Evidential challenges

Carroll filed her initial lawsuit against Trump in 2019 for defamation, followed by a second suit in 2022 for defamation and battery under a New York statute that temporarily allowed sexual abuse victims to file civil claims for past incidents.

The 2022 case went to trial first, where a federal jury held Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s and subsequently defaming her by calling her allegations a fabrication.

In his petition to the Supreme Court, Trump’s defense team argued that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan committed procedural errors during the civil trial.

Specifically, Trump's lawyers challenged the judge's decision to allow testimonies from two other women alleging past sexual assaults by Trump, as well as the admission of the 2005 "Access Hollywood" recording into evidence.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals had previously upheld the $5 million verdict, ruling that the trial judge acted within his discretion.

Following a denied request for a full-bench review by the appellate court in June 2025, Trump escalated the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Financial implications

Because Trump transferred $5.5 million into a court-controlled escrow account in 2023 following the initial jury conclusion, the funds are expected to be transferred to Carroll relatively quickly.

However, this constitutes only a portion of Trump's total legal liabilities to Carroll.

The original 2019 defamation suit went to trial second, resulting in a separate $83 million judgment.

With interest included, the US president owes Carroll more than $100 million in total. Trump’s legal team is expected to appeal the $83 million verdict to the Supreme Court in the near future.

Statements from both parties

Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lead attorney, issued a statement following the Supreme Court's order on Monday:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll. His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.”

In contrast, a spokesperson for the US President’s legal team released a statement condemning the court's decision and the ongoing civil litigation:

“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. President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.”

In filings submitted to the Supreme Court in January, Trump's attorneys had argued that the ongoing litigation was "deeply damaging to the fabric of our republic" by forcing Trump to divert attention away from his executive duties to address decades-old civil allegations. The Supreme Court did not provide an explanation for its decision to deny the petition, following standard court procedures for cert denials.