E. Jean Carroll is asking a federal judge to order Donald Trump to pay nearly $5.8 million after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of a civil verdict against him.
Carroll’s lawyers filed the request in federal court in Manhattan after the Supreme Court refused to take up Trump’s challenge to a 2023 jury verdict. That jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and defaming her after she publicly accused him in 2019.
The original verdict ordered Trump to pay $5 million. With interest, Carroll’s lawyers say the amount has grown to nearly $5.8 million. They are now asking the court to release the money, arguing that Trump has repeatedly tried to delay payment despite losing multiple legal challenges.
Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations and has continued to criticize the case publicly. After the Supreme Court declined to review the matter, he described the lawsuit on social media as a politically motivated case and said he would continue fighting.
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Carroll’s legal team says that should not stop the payment. In their filing, her lawyers argued that Carroll had previously agreed to delays while Trump pursued appeals, but that the Supreme Court’s decision leaves no valid reason to keep the funds from being disbursed.
The case centers on Carroll’s claim that Trump sexually abused her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store in Manhattan, in the mid-1990s. Carroll later wrote publicly about the alleged assault in 2019. Trump denied knowing her and accused her of lying, which led to defamation claims.
The 2023 trial was civil, not criminal. That means Trump was not convicted of a crime. Instead, the jury found him liable under civil law and ordered financial damages.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal does not include a written explanation, which is common when the court denies review. But the practical effect is important: the lower-court judgment remains in place, and Trump’s effort to overturn that $5 million verdict through the Supreme Court has failed.
Car Carroll’s lawyers also argued that Trump continued making statements about her while the case was still moving through appeals. They said the court should not allow further delay, especially after the Supreme Court showed no public disagreement among the justices when it denied review.
Trump is still fighting another major Carroll-related judgment. In a separate 2024 defamation case, a different Manhattan jury ordered him to pay $83.3 million. That award came after jurors found that Trump had defamed Carroll through later statements. Trump has appealed that verdict as well.
The legal fight has become one of the most closely watched civil cases involving Trump because it combines questions about presidential conduct, defamation, civil accountability and the limits of appeals after a jury verdict.
For ordinary voters, the case is also about whether powerful public figures can delay paying civil judgments after the appeals process runs out. For the courts, the issue is procedural but significant: when a verdict has been upheld and the Supreme Court declines review, the winning party can argue that payment should no longer be postponed.
Trump’s supporters are likely to continue viewing the case through a political lens, while Carroll’s supporters see the Supreme Court denial as another step toward accountability. Legally, however, the immediate question is narrower: whether the Manhattan court will order the money released to Carroll now.
Some details are still developing. Trump’s lawyers may continue seeking procedural delays, including asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its denial, though such requests are rarely successful. The separate $83.3 million judgment also remains in the appeals process.
Why It Matters
This case matters because it tests whether a civil judgment against a sitting president can be delayed after repeated appeals have failed. The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene leaves the 2023 verdict standing and puts pressure on the lower court to move the payment process forward.
It also matters for defamation law and public accountability. The case shows how statements made by powerful political figures can carry legal consequences, especially when a jury finds that those statements harmed someone’s reputation.
What Comes Next
A federal judge in Manhattan will decide whether to order the nearly $5.8 million payment released to Carroll. Trump’s legal team may try to delay the payout further, but Carroll’s lawyers argue that the appeals process has effectively reached its end for this verdict.
The former Elle magazine writer who won a $5 million sexual abuse verdict against Donald Trump, is now seeking the funds the president set aside as a deposit after the Supreme Court turned away his appeal. https://t.co/Y4OKdwiKOd
— Bloomberg (@business) July 1, 2026
