Supreme Court leaves Trump Carroll payment fight intact

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s latest bid to avoid paying E. Jean Carroll, leaving in place judgments from two juries that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump denied the allegations, mocked Carroll publicly, and railed

For E. Jean Carroll, the clock has been brutal. But on Monday, the Supreme Court moved the case forward in a way that left fewer escape routes for Donald Trump.

The justices rejected Trump’s latest effort to avoid paying Carroll millions of dollars that two juries said he owes after they found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Carroll had accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.

Her first trial ended in May 2023, when a federal jury found Trump liable for $5 million in damages. Trump immediately denied the assault and mocked Carroll, calling the accusation a “hoax” and a “conjob” and saying, “not my type.”

That response did not end the legal fight. Carroll later brought a second, similar lawsuit. This time, a jury quickly found Trump owed an additional $83.3 million.

Trump appealed both jury decisions, and in 2024 a federal appellate court ruled against him. He then took the initial case to the Supreme Court last summer. On Monday, the court declined to hear it, leaving the earlier judgment in place.

The Supreme Court’s move does not legally close every door. The larger second judgment could still be taken up by the justices. But Monday’s decision signaled to many observers that Trump is tightening his legal options—running out of ways to delay payment or undo what juries have already found.

After the ruling, Trump posted an angry message on Truth Social. He insisted he would keep fighting the case without explaining how. and tried to recast Carroll’s lawsuit as something aimed not at him personally but at the country. “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!” he wrote.

Trump also pointed to the legal path Carroll used to bring her claims. Carroll sued under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act. a 2022 law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits in which victims allege sexual assault. Previously, the statute of limitations had been three years.

In his Truth Social post, Trump claimed the law was written specifically to target him. That claim is disputed by the history of the statute itself. The Adult Survivors Act was modeled on a similar law that temporarily allowed lawsuits by victims of child sexual abuse who otherwise would have been blocked by the statute of limitations. And Trump was not the only defendant sued under the law: besides Carroll’s case. it also enabled lawsuits against Bill Cosby and Sean Combs.

At trial in 2023. Carroll testified about the assault and how she struggled afterward—describing her confusion about how to handle what happened and explaining her eventual decision to write a book that included the allegation. When she was asked on the stand if she regretted going public. she answered. “I regretted it about 100 times. but in the end”—she paused and broke down into tears—“being able to get my day in court…I’m crying. but I got to tell my story in court.”.

Between the jury findings. Trump’s repeated denials and mocking. and the Supreme Court’s refusal to revisit at least one judgment. the case on Monday landed with the kind of finality that is hard to ignore: a federal verdict stands. and a payment fight that began with years-old allegations now sits in the hands of the courts and the enforcement that follows.

Supreme Court Donald Trump E. Jean Carroll Adult Survivors Act defamation sexual abuse Truth Social statute of limitations Adult Survivors Act of 2022