WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up President Trump’s appeal of the initial $5 million sexual abuse and defamation verdict that followed a lawsuit by former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Now Trump will have no choice but to pony up the $5 million to the 82-year-old, who has repeatedly claimed that the president sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman fitting room during the mid-1990s.
Trump slammed the ruling and vowed to continue the fight against Carroll. A separate case between the two is working its way through the legal system.
“Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to ‘review’ a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met (Decades old celebrity photo line, standing with her husband, does not count!),” he wrote on Truth Social.
“I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength. This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for, and should never be allowed to happen to another President,” he added.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that, as president, he should not be distracted from his executive duties in order to deal with “decades-old, false allegations.”
“It is deeply damaging to the fabric of our republic for President Trump, in the midst of a historic presidency, to have to take his focus away from his singular and unique duties as chief executive to continue fighting against decades-old, false allegations and the myriad wrongs throughout this baseless case,” Trump’s attorneys told the Supreme Court in a January filing. “This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand.”
The court — as is typical — did not explain its reasons for refusing to hear the case.
Carroll was initially awarded the $5 million in May 2023 after a Manhattan federal jury found the president liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
The Elle magazine fixture claimed Trump defamed her following the assault by denying her claim, saying she wasn’t his type and claiming she had made the whole thing up to boost book sales.
In response to Trump’s continued sniping, Carroll filed a second defamation lawsuit, which ended in a jury ordering Trump in January 2024 to shell out $83.3 million in damages, including $65 million in punitive damages, $11 million to help Carroll rebuild her reputation and another $7.3 million to compensate her for her pain and suffering.
The president’s appeal of the larger verdict is still being fought out in the lower courts.
