Writer E. Jean Carroll is set to receive $5.8 million following a jury’s verdict that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her. A federal judge ruled Wednesday to uphold this decision. Trump’s legal team has quickly moved to appeal in an attempt to halt the payment. The president has already placed the amount in a designated account.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently let the 2023 civil verdict remain, enabling Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to authorize the release of the funds. The initial award of $5 million has increased due to accumulated interest.
The jury concluded Trump assaulted Carroll in a 1996 encounter within a Manhattan department store dressing room. Additionally, they determined he defamed her when she detailed the event in her 2019 memoir during his presidency. Trump’s lawyers claim they will persist in contesting the verdicts and accuse his political adversaries of leveraging the legal system against him.
Trump’s legal team is actively pursuing an appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, Carroll’s legal representatives have yet to respond to requests for comments.
The trial concluded with a jury decision after Carroll testified about a seemingly friendly encounter at the luxury store that became violent. Trump, who was absent from the trial, staunchly denied knowing Carroll. He accused her of pursuing financial gain through book sales and operating with a political agenda.
Furthermore, Trump is appealing an additional $83 million defamation compensation awarded to Carroll by another Manhattan jury in a separate trial. During this proceeding, held in January 2024, Trump briefly testified. Judge Kaplan had required the jury to accept the prior jury’s findings, focusing solely on determining the financial compensation Trump owed for his presidential remarks about Carroll.
Trump’s defense criticized the judge’s trial rules which prohibited them from discussing with the jury that the alleged encounter with Carroll did not occur.