A US judge has ruled that E. Jean Carroll can be paid almost $5.8 million, including the original $5 million verdict plus interest, after a jury found that former US President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her.

Manhattan District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the payment to the former Elle magazine advice columnist. The money had been held in escrow since 2023 during appeals following the civil verdict. Judge Kaplan wrote that the defendant had been stalling the case for years and stated, "It is time for him to 'do equity' and pay the judgment."

Carroll, 82, first publicly accused Trump of assaulting her in a New York City department store dressing room around 1996, as detailed in a memoir published in 2019. Trump denied the allegations, accused her of making false claims, and said "she's not my type" in an interview.

The US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump's appeal against the 2023 verdict, which ordered him to pay $2 million for sexual assault and $3 million for defamatory statements. Carroll's lawyers requested the payment release following this decision.

Trump's legal team filed an appeal against Judge Kaplan's order in the federal appeals court in Manhattan shortly after the ruling. They claimed the verdict was part of a political conspiracy and argued that releasing the funds before a possible Supreme Court review could undermine public confidence in the judicial process. A spokesperson for Trump's lawyers stated, "The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes."

Carroll and Trump have been involved in legal battles for nearly seven years. In a separate January 2024 case, a different Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages related to defamation based on his 2019 denial during his first White House term.

Sources