The Supreme Court on Monday refused President Donald Trump’s request to reconsider its rejection of his appeal in the 2023 case brought by E. Jean Carroll.
The court’s action leaves Trump unable to pursue further review of a $5 million jury award to Carroll, which her representatives said was paid in July. Trump had asked the justices to revisit the earlier decision that turned down his challenge to that verdict. The Monday ruling represents the last step available to him in the 2023 matter.
Court Ends $5m Challenge
The Supreme Court provided no explanation for its decision and there were no recorded dissenting opinions. It also has not granted a request for rehearing since the 1960s.
In the 2023 trial, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. The jury also determined that Trump defamed her in a 2022 social media post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!” As a result, the $5 million damages stand from that verdict. The jury had therefore made both the abuse and the defamation findings, with the damages reflecting those determinations.
2023 Ruling Made Final
With the latest refusal, the $5 million award stands as the end result of the 2023 litigation. Carroll’s legal team said the payment had already been made.
The case forms part of a broader set of proceedings involving Carroll’s allegations of abuse and defamation. The Supreme Court’s Monday order affects only the $5 million award tied to the 2023 jury decision.
Trump’s Wider Damages Battle Continues
A separate trial in 2024 produced another verdict for Carroll. It arose from a separate claim and a separate trial, distinct from the 2023 proceedings. Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages after a jury found he defamed her in 2019 when he denied her allegations of sexual abuse.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, is still appealing that judgment. His petition to the justices is currently pending, and they are expected later this year to decide whether to take up the case.
Immunity Argument on Presidential Comments
In his appeal, Trump argues that his 2019 comments about Carroll—later found to be defamatory—were “official” statements made as president. He contends that the remarks are therefore immune from being used in a legal case against him. In making that argument, he asks the justices to consider whether presidential immunity blocks the lawsuit based on the 2019 remarks. The justices’ Monday action did not address that separate immunity appeal.
No further action was taken in the 2023 matter after the court declined reconsideration.
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18 August 2026
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