Washington: Former US President Donald Trump has made a payment of $5.62 million to E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine writer, resolving a long-standing legal battle stemming from allegations of sexual abuse and defamation dating back to the 1990s. The payment follows court orders mandating Trump to transfer the compensation awarded by a jury, marking a significant development in the high-profile case.
According to court records, a total of $5,625,005.48 was transferred to the account managed by Carroll's legal team. This amount includes the damages originally decided by the jury, as well as interest that accrued over time due to delays in payment. The transfer came after a ruling by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who acted following the US Supreme Court's refusal to hear Trump's latest appeal in the case. This Supreme Court decision effectively ended Trump's most recent attempt to halt the payment while continuing his legal challenges.
Trump's legal team had sought to prevent the payment until the Supreme Court completed its review of his petition. They argued that the funds should remain on hold during the court's consideration. After their initial effort failed at the Supreme Court, Trump's lawyers pursued an emergency order from a federal appeals court on July 10, requesting either a block on the transfer or that the money be moved into an account controlled by the court. However, the appeals court denied this request, just as it had refused an earlier attempt to secure an emergency stay.
Carroll's legal team has stated that she plans to use the funds for her retirement. For the time being, the full amount will be held in an interest-bearing account until the Supreme Court definitively rejects any further requests from Trump for review of the case.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lawyer, issued a statement highlighting the significance of the payment: "Three years ago, a nine-member jury unanimously found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to announce that the damages awarded by the jury have been paid to Ms. Carroll." Notably, Carroll's lawyers worked on a contingency basis and will not take any fees from the awarded compensation, meaning Carroll will receive the entire amount directly.
E. Jean Carroll was one of several women who publicly accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, but she was among the few who pursued her allegations through a civil court trial. During the proceedings, Carroll testified that Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Trump was not present at the first trial and consistently denied the allegations publicly. Nevertheless, in May 2023, the jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages.
Following the initial verdict, Trump appeared at a CNN town hall event where he disparaged Carroll, calling her "crazy" and labeling her accusations as false. Carroll later incorporated these public statements into her legal claims, asserting that they constituted further defamation.
During a subsequent trial, Trump appeared in court and provided brief testimony. The jury examined statements Trump made in 2019 when he denied Carroll's allegations and found those statements defamatory as well. This second trial resulted in a much larger damages award of $83 million against Trump.
The recent payment of $5.62 million resolves the compensation amount from the original verdict but does not conclude the broader legal dispute between Carroll and Trump, which has spanned multiple appeals over several years. The persistence of legal challenges highlights the ongoing contentious nature of this case.
This case has attracted widespread attention due to the serious nature of the allegations, the high-profile status of the parties involved, and the extensive legal proceedings. It sheds light on the complex intersection of sexual misconduct allegations, defamation law, and the judicial process involving a former president.
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