The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider an appeal by President Donald Trump aimed at throwing out a civil verdict finding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll. The justices issued a brief, unelaborated order denying the case, a standard practice for petitions the high court selects not to review. By bypassing the challenge, the court left intact a $5 million lower-court judgment against the president.
The legal battle stems from a 2023 civil trial where Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, testified that Trump assaulted her inside a Manhattan luxury department store changing room during the mid-1990s. The federal jury concluded that Trump committed sexual abuse and subsequently defamed Carroll when he publicly rejected her claims in 2022. While Trump has consistently maintained his innocence regarding the encounter, the high court’s denial effectively concludes his direct options for reversing this specific financial and legal accountability.
Trump’s legal team had argued that the trial was unfair because jurors were permitted to hear testimony from two other women who accused him of sexual misconduct, as well as evidence including the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording. Attorneys contended the evidence improperly influenced the jury and sought a new trial, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously rejected those arguments, concluding the trial judge acted within his discretion under federal evidentiary rules. Defense filings asserted that admitting such evidence violated federal rules, and attorney Justin D. Smith wrote that “This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand.”
Conversely, Carroll’s legal team successfully argued that the justices should pass on the appeal because the trial procedures adhered to established legal frameworks. Attorney Roberta Kaplan, representing Carroll, wrote in her brief that “This question is not worthy of review,” later adding after Monday’s action that “today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll. His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.” In a separate announcement to her online followers, Carroll celebrated the development, stating, “This win is for every woman in the world!”
Following the decision, Trump wrote in a social media statement “Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to “review” a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met (Decades old celebrity photo line, standing with her husband, does not count!). I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength. This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for, and should never be allowed to happen to another President, or Candidate to be! New York State created a Law, for an instant speck of time, going back many decades, in order to wrongfully “nab” me. It was tailormade, and this Injustice cannot be allowed to stand!”
The $5 million judgment represents only a portion of Trump’s ongoing legal exposure regarding Carroll. A separate federal jury later ordered him to pay $83.3 million for distinct defamatory remarks made during and after his first presidential term. That larger award is currently navigating the lower appellate courts and was not part of Monday’s Supreme Court action.
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