Donald Trump Pays E. Jean Carroll $5.6 Million in Damages

President Donald Trump paid writer E. Jean Carroll $5,625,005.48 in damages on July 9, 2026, following a 2023 federal civil jury verdict that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The payment, consisting of a $5 million award plus three years of post-judgment interest, was released from a court-managed escrow account.

The disbursement occurred after the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear Trump's appeal on June 29. U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan authorized the transfer after rejecting emergency motions from Trump's legal team to block the payment, noting that the president had been stalling the case for years.

The legal battle centered on Carroll's allegation that Trump assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s. While Carroll intends to use the funds for retirement, Trump has dismissed the proceedings as a hoax and lawfare.

This payment settles the first of two judgments. Trump is currently appealing a separate 2024 defamation verdict that awarded Carroll $83.3 million. His legal team is preparing a petition to the Supreme Court by July 28, arguing that presidential immunity shields him from that larger judgment.