A US court has officially ordered that columnist E. Jean Carroll be paid $5.8 million in damages, years after a jury determined that former US President Donald Trump was liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding in Manhattan, ruled that the funds—which have been held in escrow since 2023—must now be released to the former Elle magazine columnist.
In his written memorandum, Judge Kaplan criticized the former president’s legal strategy, stating, “Defendant has been stalling this case for years. It is time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment.” The total amount includes $2 million in damages for sexual assault, $3 million for defamatory statements, and $800,000 in accrued interest.
The legal dispute originated from a 2019 memoir in which the 82-year-old Carroll alleged that Trump assaulted her in a New York City department store while he was serving his first term in office. Trump consistently denied the allegations, claimed he did not know her, and famously remarked in an interview that she was “not my type.”
Lawyers representing Trump have argued that the verdict is part of a political conspiracy and have pledged to continue their appeals. Following the judge’s latest order, a spokesperson for the former president 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,” in a statement following Kaplan’s order. Despite defense efforts to halt the payment on the grounds that they had asked the Supreme Court to reconsider, a judge from the US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their request late Wednesday.
Legal representatives for Carroll emphasized the necessity of the payment, noting in a filing that their client has waited more than three years for the jury’s verdict to be satisfied. They stated, “She should not have to wait any longer. It is time this case comes to an end.” This ruling follows the US Supreme Court’s 2023 refusal to hear an appeal regarding the original verdict. Separately, Trump is also currently appealing an $83.3 million judgment awarded to Carroll by a different Manhattan jury in 2024 in a related defamation case.
