E. Jean Carroll Receives $5.6M From Trump in Abuse Case
Writer E. Jean Carroll has received approximately $5.625 million from President Donald Trump, concluding a three-year legal battle that began with a 2023 jury verdict finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The payment, released from a court-held escrow account on July 9, 2026, includes the original $5 million jury award plus roughly $800,000 in accrued interest, according to NPR.
Background of the Case
The case stems from an alleged incident in late 1995 or early 1996, when Carroll says Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. Carroll, then an advice columnist and author, went public with her account in a 2019 memoir. Trump denied the allegations, stating he had never met her and describing her claims as a “con job” and “hoax.”
In November 2022, Carroll filed a lawsuit under New York’s Adult Survivors Act — a temporary state law that created a one-year window for sexual assault survivors to file civil claims beyond the expired statute of limitations. The suit included claims of battery and defamation.
The Verdict and Appeals
In May 2023, a nine-person jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump pursued multiple appeals over the following three years, but each was rejected. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in December 2024, and on June 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal, leaving the verdict intact.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered the release of the funds from the court’s registry investment system (CRIS), where Trump had deposited the award while pursuing his appeals. In his July 8 order, Judge Kaplan wrote that Trump “has been stalling this case for years” and that “[i]t’s time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment,” as NBC News reported.
Trump’s legal team filed an emergency motion to delay payment on the same day, but the 2nd Circuit rejected the bid hours later. The funds were released from escrow on July 9, and the payment was confirmed in a court docket entry on July 14.
Reactions
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said in a statement: “Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.”
Trump, responding on Truth Social after the Supreme Court declined his appeal, called the case “really against the United States of America” and vowed to “continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me.” A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team described the matter as “the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes.”
The Remaining $83.3 Million Judgment
While this case has been resolved, a separate legal battle continues. In January 2024, a different jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in a defamation lawsuit (known as “Carroll I”) concerning statements Trump made while president in 2019. The 2nd Circuit rejected Trump’s appeal of that verdict in April 2026. Trump’s legal team has indicated they will ask the Supreme Court to review that case, potentially invoking the Westfall Act to substitute the federal government as defendant — a move that could effectively nullify the award since the government cannot be sued for defamation.
Significance
This payment represents the first time Trump has been compelled to pay damages in a sexual misconduct case. Despite more than 20 women having accused him of sexual misconduct over several decades, this is the only case that has resulted in a jury finding of liability and a financial judgment that has been collected.
Legal experts note that Trump’s multi-pronged delay strategy — appeals at every level, presidential immunity arguments, reconsideration motions, and emergency stay requests — ultimately failed to prevent payment. Judge Kaplan explicitly characterized this pattern as stalling, noting that Trump “has been stalling this case for years.”
What’s Next
The legal saga is far from over. The $83.3 million defamation judgment remains under appeal, and Trump’s team is expected to seek Supreme Court review, potentially raising novel questions about presidential immunity in civil cases. The Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling on presidential immunity in criminal cases (Trump v. United States) has opened new legal terrain that Trump’s attorneys are attempting to leverage in the civil context. Meanwhile, Carroll, now 82, has indicated she intends to donate the funds she has received, though no public confirmation of such plans has been made following this payment.
As The Guardian noted, the disbursement marks a significant milestone in what has been one of the most closely watched legal battles involving a sitting president in modern American history.