Writer E. Jean Carroll has received $5.62 million from US President Donald Trump, three years after a jury awarded her $5 million in damages in her sexual abuse and defamation case.
Court records show Carroll received $5.62 million, including interest, after the US Supreme Court declined on June 29 to hear Trump’s appeal, clearing the way for the payment.
Carroll announced the payment in an email to subscribers of her Substack blog on Tuesday.
“The Eagle Has Landed,” she wrote, thanking more than a dozen current and former members of her legal team.
She also added: “And . . . a special, special thanks to Alina Habba Esq.! I could not have done it without you.”
Carroll’s lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, welcomed the payment.
“Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll,” Kaplan said. “Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.”
The money had been held in a court-controlled bank account while Trump pursued an appeal. After the Supreme Court rejected that appeal, Carroll’s legal team sought immediate release of the funds, while Trump’s lawyers asked for further delays.
A federal jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation over Carroll’s claim that he assaulted her in a dressing room at New York City’s Bergdorf Goodman department store in the 1990s. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages after concluding there was sufficient evidence to support her claims.
Trump denied the allegations throughout the case. He did not attend the civil trial, and his legal team called no witnesses before the jury delivered its verdict.
The jury rejected Carroll’s rape claim under New York law but found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. A judge later ruled that Carroll’s assertion that Trump raped her was “substantially true.”
Carroll, 82, is also awaiting the outcome of Trump’s appeal against a separate January 2024 jury verdict that found him liable for further defaming her and awarded her $83 million in damages. Trump’s lawyers have indicated they also intend to take that case to the Supreme Court.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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