Trump Makes $5M-Plus Payment to E. Jean Carroll

US President Donald Trump has paid writer E Jean Carroll more than $5m (£3.7m) in damages, ending a three-year effort to delay a civil ruling that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

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Her lawyers said the payment was made after a judge ordered it following the US Supreme Court’s decision last month to reject Trump’s bid to review the case.

Damages paid after judge’s order

Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, said on Tuesday that Carroll had received the damages amount ordered by a jury.

“Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict,” Kaplan said in a brief statement.

Trump had sought to postpone the payout so he could ask the Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling that declined to hear his appeal. The judge overseeing the case then directed him to pay the damages.

A representative for Trump’s legal team declined to comment on the payment.

Payment tops $5.62m with interest

Carroll’s legal team said she received more than $5.62m. The figure included the $5m awarded by the jury plus interest accrued during the appeals process.

After the verdict in 2023, Trump deposited the damages into a court-controlled account. The funds remained there while the legal challenges proceeded through the courts.

In seeking to avoid payment, Trump argued that the trial judge improperly allowed evidence that prejudiced jurors against him. He also described the case as politically motivated.

Trump challenges evidence and verdict

Lawyers for Trump criticised the judge’s decision to require payment. They characterised the lawsuit as a “hoax” and a “Witch Hunt”, arguing it had been supported by Democrats.

During the legal process, a federal appeals court upheld the jury’s finding last year. It said Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the civil trial, did not make errors that would justify a new trial.

Trump had also repeatedly denied Carroll’s allegations.

Carroll, who is 82, has said Trump assaulted her in the mid-1990s in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan. She later alleged Trump defamed her in a 2022 post on his Truth Social platform, in which he denied her claims.

Supreme Court decision ends delay

Last month, the Supreme Court declined Trump’s request to consider the matter, removing a key barrier to payment.

Carroll marked the Supreme Court’s refusal at the time, posting on her Substack that the outcome meant “WE WON!” She also wrote that the result was “for every woman in the world”.

Trump’s legal team has continued contesting related decisions. He is also appealing a separate 2024 ruling in which another jury found him liable for defaming Carroll and awarded her nearly $84m.

A panel of federal judges rejected Trump’s appeal of that award last year.

Separate defamation case remains under appeal

The new payment resolves the damages component of the 2023 civil case in which the jury found Trump liable over Carroll’s claims of sexual abuse and defamation. The case began before Trump’s Supreme Court challenge, which ultimately failed.

The damages paid Tuesday conclude a process that began shortly after the jury verdict, when the money was set aside pending appeals.

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15 July 2026