A federal judge in New York on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll more than $5.8 million after his unsuccessful appeal cleared the way for the money to be released.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the disbursement of the original $5 million judgment, along with nearly $800,000 in accrued interest, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month not to hear Trump’s appeal of the initial 2023 verdict.
A Manhattan federal jury found Trump liable in May 2023 for sexual abuse stemming from Carroll’s allegation that he assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. The jury also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll in 2022 after he publicly denied her allegations, awarding her $5 million in damages.
To secure the judgment while appealing, Trump deposited approximately $5.55 million into the federal government’s Court Registry Investment System in 2023. On Wednesday, Kaplan ordered the court clerk to transfer those funds to an account belonging to Carroll’s attorneys. The court docket did not immediately indicate whether or not the transfer had already been completed.
Trump’s attorneys then filed a notice on Wednesday saying they intend to appeal Kaplan’s disbursement order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, though it is unclear whether that appeal could halt the release of the money. The Second Circuit previously upheld the underlying verdict before the Supreme Court unanimously declined to review the case.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Carroll’s attorneys asked Kaplan to release the funds, arguing that the litigation over the judgment had effectively run its course.
“After four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end,” attorney Roberta Kaplan wrote in a court filing. “And under the Court’s Stipulation and Order, Carroll is now entitled to obtain payment of the money due under the judgment.”
Trump has continued to criticize the case, calling it an example of “weaponization” and “lawfare.” After the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, he wrote on social media that he would continue fighting the lawsuit, including what he called the “ridiculous claim of Defamation.”
Wednesday’s order does not affect a separate $83.3 million judgment awarded to Carroll in 2024 after another jury found Trump liable for additional defamatory statements. That case remains pending on appeal.
