Judge Orders Trump to Pay E. Jean Carroll $5.8 Million

Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the release of approximately $5.8 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, consisting of a $5 million principal judgment for sexual abuse and defamation plus nearly $800,000 in accrued interest. The order follows a 2023 jury verdict finding Donald Trump liable for assaulting Carroll in a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and defaming her in 2022.

Trump attempted to block the payout through a series of legal challenges. He filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States seeking to overturn a June 29 rejection of his appeal, arguing that new presidential immunity petitions could impact the case. His legal team also contended that the funds should not be released because Carroll intended to donate them, which would make them unrecoverable if the verdict were reversed. Judge Kaplan rejected these arguments, stating Trump had been stalling the case for years and that it was time to do equity.

Following the district court's order, Trump's attorneys sought an administrative stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, but Judge Eunice C. Lee denied the emergency motion. Trump has characterized the litigation as a weaponization of the legal system and a witch hunt. Separate from this payout, the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into whether Carroll lied under oath during depositions, while Trump continues to appeal a separate $83.3 million defamation award.