Judge clears release of 5 million dollar award to E Jean Carroll

A federal judge has authorised the release of nearly 5.8 million dollars to writer E Jean Carroll.

A federal judge has authorised the release of nearly 5.8 million dollars to writer E Jean Carroll, allowing her to collect damages awarded in a civil case that found US President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The payment includes the original five million dollar jury award along with accumulated interest after the money remained on hold during the appeals process.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan approved the release of the funds after the US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal last month. The money had been placed in an escrow account while Trump challenged the 2023 jury verdict. With the Supreme Court refusing to review the case, the legal process moved forward and the court ordered the payment to Carroll.

Trump quickly responded by filing an appeal against Judge Kaplan’s latest order in a federal appeals court in Manhattan. His legal team continues to argue that the case should not be considered finished because they are seeking another review from the Supreme Court.

In a statement, Trump’s representatives repeated their long standing claim that the case was politically motivated. They described the legal proceedings as unfair and accused political opponents of using the justice system against the president. Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations and has referred to her claims as false throughout the legal battle.

Lawyers representing Trump argued that Carroll should not receive the money while another appeal remains possible. They claimed that if the Supreme Court later agreed to reconsider the case, recovering the money would be difficult if Carroll had already donated or spent it. According to Trump’s legal team, releasing the funds before all legal options are exhausted could damage public confidence in the judicial process.

On Wednesday, Trump formally submitted a new request asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier decision not to hear his appeal. Legal experts note that such requests are rarely granted, making it unlikely that the court will reopen the case.

The dispute between Carroll and Trump has continued for almost seven years. Carroll first accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her inside a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York during the mid 1990s. Trump denied ever assaulting Carroll and said he did not know her. He also claimed the allegations were fabricated to promote the publication of her memoir.

In 2023, a jury concluded that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll after she publicly shared her allegations. While the jurors did not find that rape had been proven under New York law, they ruled in Carroll’s favour and awarded her five million dollars in damages.

A second jury reached another decision in January 2024 after examining statements Trump made in 2019 while serving as president. That jury found he had continued to defame Carroll through his public comments and ordered him to pay 83.3 million dollars in additional damages. Trump has argued that those remarks were protected by presidential immunity, but an appeals court rejected that claim last year.

Trump is expected to continue challenging the larger verdict before the Supreme Court. His lawyers argue that success in that appeal could also affect the earlier five million dollar judgment. Carroll, however, has accused Trump of repeatedly delaying both cases in an effort to avoid accountability. With the latest court order, she is now set to receive the first damages awarded in one of the most closely watched civil cases involving the US president.