Supreme Court rejects Trump's final appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case, $5 million verdict stands
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear President Donald Trump's appeal, leaving intact a jury's finding that he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and defamed her when he called her claims a hoax.
Background
Carroll, a former Elle advice columnist, alleged that Trump assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. She made the accusation public in 2019 while Trump was still in his first term. Trump denied the claim, calling it a "hoax" and a "con job" in a 2022 social media post. He added: "This woman is not my type!"
The legal battle
Carroll sued Trump in federal court in New York. A 2023 jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding $5 million in damages. Jurors did not find that he raped Carroll, as she had claimed. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in 2024, ruling that the trial judge properly admitted evidence of Trump's past conduct, including the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.
Supreme Court's decision
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take up Trump's appeal in a brief, unexplained order with no noted dissents. Trump's legal team, led by attorney Justin D. Smith, had argued that the verdict was tainted by "highly inflammatory" evidentiary rulings that allowed testimony from two other women who accused him of assault decades ago.
This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand.
Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan urged the justices to reject the appeal, saying the lower court's rulings were consistent with federal evidence rules.
This question is not worthy of review.
Trump has since nominated Smith to be an appeals court judge.
What Trump must now pay
The Supreme Court's denial means Trump must pay the $5 million judgment, plus interest. Separately, a second jury in 2024 awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million in a defamation case after Trump continued to deny her allegations. Trump is still appealing that ruling, but the case has not yet reached the high court.
- 2023 verdict
- 5 million USD
- 2024 verdict
- 83.3 million USD
Broader context
The decision arrives as the court hands down opinions on some of the biggest cases of the term, several central to Trump's agenda. Trump has previously criticized the justices in personal terms when rulings go against him. Meanwhile, the president's Justice Department disclosed in May that it has opened a criminal investigation into whether Carroll committed perjury during her civil suits.
