The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s appeal. As a result, he must pay $5 million (about Rs. 473.88 million in Indian currency) to female journalist E Jean Carroll.
On Monday, the nation’s highest court declined to hear Trump’s appeal challenging a lower court’s ruling in favor of Carroll on sexual harassment and defamation charges. As a result, the $5 million judgment remains in effect in 2023.
Carroll first filed a defamation suit against Trump in 2019. He later filed a new lawsuit in 2022 after the new law went into effect in New York. That law also allows victims of sexual assault to file civil lawsuits for past incidents
Due to an odd legal situation, the 2022 case went to court first. In that case, a jury ruled in Carroll’s favor and ordered Trump to pay $5 million in damages.
The 2019 defamation case was subsequently tried and Trump was awarded $83 million. Trump reportedly owes Carroll more than $100 million in total, including interest.
Carroll’s 2022 lawsuit alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s and later denied the incident and defamed her.
Trump has been denying the allegations since the beginning. He claims the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Louis Kaplan, made multiple errors in the trial.
Trump’s lawyers complained that the judge allowed the testimony of two women who had previously accused Trump of sexual harassment. They also questioned allowing the 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape to be shown to the jury.
The audio recording shows Trump making offensive comments about women, which has been submitted as evidence in the lawsuit.
Last year, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $5 million jury verdict. The court said the judge made no error that required a new trial.
In June 2025, Trump unsuccessfully appealed the case to the full bench. He then appealed to the Supreme Court.
Trump’s lawyers argued in the Supreme Court that forcing an acting president to divert attention from his national duties to fight old allegations was harmful to the president.
But Carroll’s attorneys argued that the Second Circuit Court’s decision was correct and that the jury reached a verdict based on sufficient evidence.
After the jury’s verdict, Trump deposited $5.5 million into a court-controlled account in 2023. As a result, Carol will likely receive the money relatively soon.
Meanwhile, Trump still has the chance to challenge the $83 million judgment in the Supreme Court. Trump’s lawyers are expected to appeal the ruling soon.