Writer E. Jean Carroll will receive $5.8 million following a jury’s decision that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her. A federal judge confirmed this ruling on Wednesday. Trump’s lawyers have already filed an appeal to block the payment.
The funds have been placed in an account after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 2023 civil verdict. This allowed Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to authorize the release of the money. The original $5 million verdict has increased due to interest.
The jury concluded that Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 in a department store dressing room in Manhattan. They also determined he defamed her after she disclosed the event in a 2019 memoir during Trump’s first presidential term. Trump’s legal team plans to persist in contesting the verdicts, claiming political manipulation through the legal system.
Trump’s representatives lodged an appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Carroll’s legal team did not immediately provide a response.
During the trial, which Trump did not attend, Carroll testified about a flirtatious meeting with Trump that quickly turned violent. Trump has consistently denied knowing Carroll, now 82, and accused her of using the allegations to promote book sales and pursue political aims.
Additionally, Trump is appealing an $83 million defamation compensation awarded by another Manhattan jury after a separate trial in January 2024. In that trial, Judge Kaplan instructed the jury to adhere to the prior jury’s findings and only assess the financial amount Trump owed Carroll for his remarks during his presidency. Trump’s lawyers criticized the damages trial for preventing them from questioning the occurrence of the incident with Carroll.
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