Every Court Has Said No as Trump Loses Final Bid to Overturn E Jean Carroll's $5m Sexual Abuse Damages

Donald Trump has exhausted every avenue of appeal after the US Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear his challenge to the $5 million (£3.95 million) civil verdict that found he sexually abused and defamed writer E Jean Carroll. The court's decision, which came without explanation as is customary, leaves the 2023 jury verdict fully intact and means Trump will now be required to pay the damages he has owed since that ruling.

Carroll sued Trump under New York's Adult Survivors Act, a temporary statute that lifted the civil statute of limitations for one year, allowing adults to file claims over decades-old sexual assault allegations. She alleged that Trump assaulted her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. A jury found in May 2023 that Trump had sexually abused and defamed Carroll, awarding her $5 million (£3.95 million) in damages.

A Long Road Through the Courts

Trump had argued throughout the appeals process that the trial judge, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, made critical errors in how the case was conducted. His legal team contended that jurors should not have been permitted to hear testimony from two other women, Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who had separately accused Trump of sexual misconduct, allegations he has also denied. They further argued that the judge should not have allowed the jury to view the 2005 'Access Hollywood' tape, in which Trump was recorded speaking disparagingly about women.

A three-judge panel of the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those arguments, ruling unanimously that the trial judge had not made errors warranting a new trial. The panel described the evidence, including the 'Access Hollywood' tape, as showing a 'repeated, idiosyncratic pattern of conduct' consistent with Carroll's allegations. Trump then sought to have the case reheard by the full bench of the Second Circuit, which also declined in June 2025. Those were the only two courts that ruled on his appeal of the $5m (£3.95m) verdict before he brought the matter to the US Supreme Court, which issued the final rejection on Monday.

Notably, none of the nine justices, including the three Trump appointed himself, issued a written dissent from the decision not to take up the case.

'Ends His Quest to Avoid Accountability'

Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, issued a statement following the ruling declaring that it 'affirms once and for all the jury's unanimous verdict that President Donald J Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E Jean Carroll.' She added that 'his multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today's ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.'

Carroll herself responded on her Substack, writing 'WE WON!' and describing the outcome as being 'for every woman in the world.'

Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social calling the civil suit a 'fake case' and vowing to 'continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.' A spokesman for his legal team said the 'American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes.'

The $83m Case Still Pending

Monday's ruling concerns only the $5 million (£3.95 million) verdict from the 2023 trial. Carroll separately won an $83.3 million (£65.8 million) judgment against Trump in a second defamation case, stemming from statements he made in 2019 denying her allegations. That matter remains before the Second Circuit, where Trump is arguing he was acting within the scope of his presidential duties and is therefore entitled to immunity. In March 2026, the Second Circuit paused payment of that award pending the outcome of the appeal, on condition that Trump posted a $100 million (£79 million) bond.

Trump transferred $5.5 million (£4.35 million) into a court-controlled account following the original 2023 jury verdict. Carroll is now expected to receive those funds relatively quickly following the Supreme Court's decision.

The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene sets a firm legal endpoint on the first federal verdict ever entered against a US president for sexual abuse. With over $100 million (£79 million) in combined judgments across both Carroll cases, the stakes of the remaining $83.3 million (£65.8 million) appeal extend well beyond any single lawsuit.