The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday again refused to hear former President Donald Trump's appeal of a $5 million jury verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse and defamation. This marks the second time the justices have declined to consider Trump's challenge to the 2023 jury decision.
Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged that Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s in a Manhattan department store dressing room. Jurors found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in May 2023, awarding Carroll $5 million. However, the jury did not find that Trump raped her, as she had claimed.
Trump's legal team has argued that the trial was unfair. Following the Supreme Court's initial denial of his appeal in June, Carroll collected nearly $5.63 million from Trump, including the original verdict and accrued interest.
The Supreme Court is also reviewing Trump's appeal of a separate $83.3 million jury verdict for defamation against Carroll in 2019. In that appeal, Trump's lawyers assert that presidential immunity should shield him from liability for statements made during his first term. Lower courts had previously ruled that he forfeited this defense.
The legal battle between Trump and Carroll began after she published excerpts from her memoir in 2019, detailing her allegations. Trump has consistently denied Carroll's claims, asserting in 2019 and again in 2022 that she was lying.
The case that resulted in the $5 million verdict stemmed from Trump's 2022 social media posts in which he called Carroll's claim a "hoax" and a "con job."
Trump's lawyers have argued that the issue of presidential immunity, currently under consideration by the Supreme Court in the $83.3 million case, could potentially impact the earlier $5 million verdict as well. The court's consideration of presidential immunity comes after a landmark 2024 decision establishing that former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their core constitutional powers while in office. The lawsuits brought by Carroll are civil in nature.