Federal judge orders release of $5 million awarded to E. Jean Carroll in Trump case
A judge ordered the disbursement of more than $5 million, plus interest, to writer E. Jean Carroll after a jury found former President Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, despite the president’s appeal efforts.
A federal judge has directed that more than $5 million in damages, plus accrued interest, be released to writer E. Jean Carroll following a 2023 civil jury verdict that found former President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The funds, which had been held in a court-controlled account for three years, are now slated for transfer, though the exact timing remains unclear.
Trump’s legal team filed a notice of appeal immediately after the order and asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier decision not to hear the case. In a filing, the president argued that the lower-court judge should delay payment until the Supreme Court reviews the matter again.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, described Trump’s Supreme Court request as “gamesmanship” and said the president is trying “to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying” Carroll.
The jury’s finding, reached in under three hours, concluded that Trump more likely than not sexually abused Carroll in a 1990s department-store encounter, a claim he has consistently denied. In a separate 2024 defamation trial, a jury awarded Carroll over $83 million, a verdict also contested by Trump, who argues presidential immunity should have barred certain evidence.
The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Trump’s latest petition, and the disbursement of the $5 million award proceeds while the appeals process continues.