The U.S. Supreme Court declined on June 29 to review President Donald Trump’s appeal of a $5 million civil verdict against him in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse and defamation. The decision leaves intact a 2023 jury finding that Trump sexually abused Carroll in the mid-1990s at Bergdorf Goodman, a Manhattan department store, and subsequently defamed her.
Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine, publicly accused Trump of assaulting her in 2019 after she published an excerpt from her memoir describing the alleged incident. Trump has consistently denied the allegations, calling them fabricated and politically motivated. The jury found him liable for sexual abuse but did not find that he committed rape, as Carroll had claimed. The court also ruled that Trump defamed Carroll by publicly denying her accusations.
Trump’s legal team argued that the trial was unfair because the judge allowed the jury to hear testimony from two other women who alleged sexual misconduct by Trump decades earlier, as well as evidence including a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording where he made derogatory remarks about women. They contended this constituted improper “propensity evidence” that prejudiced the jury. The Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected these arguments, ruling the judge’s evidentiary decisions were appropriate and that any errors were harmless.
Following the 2023 verdict, Trump was required to deposit the $5 million award into a court-controlled account, where it has remained pending his appeals. With the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case, Carroll is likely to receive the funds soon. Trump’s legal team indicated plans to continue appealing another $83.3 million defamation verdict awarded to Carroll by a separate jury in 2024.
Trump reacted to the Supreme Court’s decision via social media, calling the lawsuit “a Fake Case” and describing it as “Weaponization and Lawfare” against him. He asserted that the case was harmful to the country and vowed to keep fighting the claims. Meanwhile, Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said the ruling “ends [Trump’s] quest to avoid accountability for his actions” and affirmed the jury’s unanimous verdict.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation targeting Carroll, among others, focusing on alleged perjury in her testimony related to her civil lawsuits against the former president. This inquiry has drawn criticism from Trump’s supporters, who characterize the investigations as politically motivated.
The case against Trump, spanning more than eight years since Carroll first came forward, highlights ongoing legal challenges that have followed the former president post-presidency. The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up this appeal contrasts with its willingness to address other significant issues in its upcoming term, including voting laws and rights related to transgender youth.