A US federal judge has ordered Donald Trump to pay $5 million to writer E. Jean Carroll after a civil judgment finding him liable for sexual assault and defamation became final.
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The order follows a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States last week to decline hearing Trump’s appeal against the May 2023 civil verdict. By refusing to review the case, the Supreme Court allowed the lower court’s judgment to stand.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan directed that the $5 million previously deposited by Trump with the court be released to Carroll. The ruling also requires payment of accrued interest, although the exact amount has not been specified.
Carroll, an 82-year-old former journalist and columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room at a New York department store in 1996. Trump denied the allegations and, after Carroll made them public in a 2019 book, described her claims as fabricated. A civil jury later found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $2 million for the assault claim and $3 million for defamatory statements.
In a separate defamation lawsuit, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamatory remarks. Although that judgment has been upheld on appeal, enforcement remains temporarily suspended while legal proceedings continue.
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Meanwhile, US media have reported that Carroll is also the subject of a Justice Department investigation examining whether she made false statements under oath during depositions related to her legal cases against Trump. The reported investigation has not resulted in any publicly announced charges, and legal proceedings remain ongoing.