The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist.
REUTERS—Rebuffing President Donald Trump for a second time, the Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist. The justices rejected Trump’s request to reconsider their previous decision in...
President Trump’s last desperate attempt to avoid paying E. Jean Carroll has just been shut down by the Supreme Court. Trump sought to overturn a 2023 jury verdict awarding $5 million to Carroll for defamation and alleged sexual abuse. The Supreme Court rejected an earlier appeal from Trump in June, and Trump wanted them to take the rare step of rehearing the case, which the court unceremoniously denied Monday. Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a New York City department store in 1996, which Trump denied, attacking her on social media and accusing her of “a complete con job” and a “Hoax and a lie.” She sued him in 2022, and a jury ruled against him, leading to a series of appeals by Trump. The president eventually paid the cash to Carroll through a fund set up during the appeals process, which grew to $5.8 million after interest. He continues to insist that he didn’t know Carroll and accuses her of making up the story for political and financial reasons, even as he lost another defamation lawsuit to Carroll for $88.3 million, which he also appealing. Trump is likely to throw a tantrum over the ruling, just as he did when the Supreme Court turned him down in June. He hates having to pay money that he owes, despite the fact that he’s financially better than ever thanks to using the presidency to enrich himself. This time, though, Trump is out of excuses to evade paying Carroll. This story has been updated.
The Supreme Court once again declined to take up President Trump's attempt to toss a jury's $5 million finding that he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll.The big picture: Carroll's payday had been long delayed as the president fought the verdict. The Supreme Court already declined to throw it out earlier this year.Trump's lawyers are also still fighting a separate $83.3 million defamation judgment he was ordered to pay her, arguing he's entitled to presidential immunity.Driving the news: The justices did not explain their reasoning for declining to take up the challenge, as is typical.After the Supreme Court rejected Trump's bid to toss the civil verdict in late June, his legal team petitioned for a rehearing, pointing to his separate challenge over immunity claims.Carroll received the more than $5 million she was owed earlier this year, which her legal team said she would place in an interest-bearing account until Trump's petition was denied.What they're saying: A spokesman for Trump's legal team slammed what he described as the "Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes" in a statement provided to Axios.Catch up quick: Carroll filed two lawsuits against Trump stemming from her allegation that he sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s and his subsequent denials.She first sued him in 2019 for defamation over statements he made accusing her of fabricating the claim.She sued him again in 2022, this time alleging sexual assault and defamation for another statement Trump made. That second lawsuit went to trial first, and in May 2023, a jury found Trump liable, awarding her $5 million.A jury in the other lawsuit then awarded Carroll $83.3 million for Trump's defamation. His lawyers unsuccessfully appealed the $83.3 million judgment to a federal appeals court. But the president's team is now asking the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing presidential immunity shield Trump from liability for statements he made while president, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reported.Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
The president was found liable of sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll in the high-profile civil case.
Trump and the Justice Department are also asking the high court to toss out a second Carroll verdict totaling $83 million.
President Trump was held civilly liable in the case by a New York federal jury for defaming and sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll.
The Supreme Court declined for the second time to consider President Trump's appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case.
The unusual Supreme Court request comes as Trump has already paid out millions in damages to the writer, E. Jean Carroll.