The United States Supreme Court has once again turned down U.S. President Donald Trump’s appeal regarding a $5 million US verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll. This decision comes after a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the trial was unfair, but the justices refused to reconsider their previous decision from June. This verdict stems from allegations that Trump raped Carroll in the 1990s in a Manhattan department store dressing room.
Additionally, the Supreme Court is also considering Trump’s appeal of an $83.3 million US jury verdict for defaming Carroll in 2019 during his first presidential term. Trump’s lawyers claim that presidential immunity protects him from Carroll’s claims and that lower courts erred in ruling against this defense.
The legal battle between Trump and Carroll began when she accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. Trump has consistently denied these allegations and called them a “hoax” and a “con job.” The $5 million US verdict pertained to Trump’s statements in 2022 dismissing Carroll’s claims as false on social media.
After the Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s appeal in June, Carroll received nearly $5.63 million US from Trump, which included the original $5 million US civil verdict plus interest. The Supreme Court’s landmark 2024 decision established that former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their constitutional powers during their presidency, but the Carroll cases are civil lawsuits.