E. Jean Carroll Receives $5.62 Million From Trump After Years-Long Legal Battle

Writer E. Jean Carroll has received more than $5.62 million from U.S. President Donald Trump, bringing to a close one chapter of a years-long legal battle in which a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming her. The payment, which includes the original $5 million damages award plus accrued interest, was released after Trump’s efforts to block the transfer were rejected by the courts.

Court records show that $5,625,005.48 was transferred from a court-controlled escrow account to Carroll’s legal representatives after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan authorized the release of the funds. The money had remained on deposit while Trump pursued a series of appeals challenging the 2023 civil verdict.

The payment follows a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last month declining to hear Trump’s appeal of the 2023 judgment. That decision effectively exhausted his primary avenue for preventing the release of the funds, prompting Judge Kaplan to order the disbursement despite objections from Trump’s legal team.

Carroll first accused Trump publicly in 2019, alleging that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store during the mid-1990s. Trump repeatedly denied the allegation and claimed he had never met Carroll in the manner she described, later calling her accusations a “hoax.” Carroll subsequently filed civil lawsuits alleging both sexual abuse and defamation.

In May 2023, a nine-member federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, although it did not find him liable for rape under New York’s legal definition at the time. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages, covering compensation for the abuse and the reputational harm caused by Trump’s public statements denying her allegations.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed that the payment had been received and described it as the successful enforcement of the jury’s unanimous verdict. Carroll also acknowledged receiving the funds, saying the legal process had taken years but that the judgment had finally been satisfied. According to her legal team, the money has been placed in an interest-bearing account while other legal proceedings continue.

Despite making the payment, Trump’s legal team has maintained that he denies Carroll’s allegations and continues to challenge the verdict. His lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its refusal to hear the appeal and argue that releasing the money before all legal options are exhausted could cause irreparable harm.

The latest payment does not end the broader legal dispute between the two parties. Trump is still appealing a separate 2024 defamation judgment of $83.3 million, awarded after another jury concluded that he continued to defame Carroll through public statements made after the first lawsuit. That larger judgment remains under appeal, with Trump’s legal team expected to seek Supreme Court review.

The case has become one of the most prominent civil legal battles involving a sitting U.S. president, drawing international attention to issues of accountability, sexual abuse allegations and defamation law. While the payment marks the conclusion of the first damages award, the second and far larger judgment means the legal conflict between Trump and Carroll is likely to continue for some time.