U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll after a 2023 jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her; some reports put the sum at $5.8 million.
Three years ago Mr. Trump deposited $5.55 million in the federal Court Registry Investment System, and Kaplan directed the clerk to move the money into an account belonging to Carroll's lawyers; the transfer may already have taken place, though the court docket does not indicate either way.
Kaplan's order specifically directed the clerk to disburse the principal judgment of $5,000,000 and the post-judgment interest, and he later issued a memorandum explaining his decision. Kaplan said, "In the last analysis, defendant has been stalling this case for years," and wrote that "It's time for him to 'do equity' and pay the judgment."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit late on Wednesday rejected Mr. Trump's emergency request for an "immediate administrative stay" to preserve the status quo while the court weighs his forthcoming stay request. The appeals court acted hours after Trump filed paperwork fighting Kaplan's order; court filings show he filed paperwork indicating his appeal within an hour of Kaplan's order.
About six weeks after Carroll's trial win, both sides agreed that Mr. Trump could deposit $5 million, plus 11% interest, in a court-administered fund while appeals played out. That arrangement was described as allowing payment upon definitive legal developments; Mr. Trump's team has argued Carroll's representatives have an "incorrect reading" and said the agreement "does not permit collection while the rehearing petition remains unresolved."
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on June 29 to hear Mr. Trump's appeal of the $5 million verdict, with no dissents, and Carroll's lawyers then asked Kaplan to order payment. Carroll's lead attorney Roberta Kaplan said in filings, "After four years of litigation across every level of the federal court system, it is time for this case to end," and called Mr. Trump's latest Supreme Court effort "gamesmanship," accusing him of trying "to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying."
Mr. Trump's attorneys filed a notice on Wednesday saying they would appeal and asking the Second Circuit to act, while also asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its refusal to hear the case and seeking a delay in disbursing the funds; his lawyers immediately filed a notice contesting Kaplan's order. A spokesperson for Mr. Trump's 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."
A jury concluded in under three hours that Mr. Trump more likely than not sexually abused Carroll by forcibly inserting his fingers into her during a 1990s encounter in a department store, and the defamation claims stemmed from his denials, including saying he did not know Carroll, calling her "not my type" and labeling her story a "hoax" and a "con." Carroll first went public with her abuse allegations in 2019 and sued for defamation that year; a jury awarded her $83.3 million in a separate case that reached trial in 2024 and is now the subject of pending appeals. Mr. Trump's lawyers have argued the $5 million matter should be reconsidered because jurors were shown statements from his presidency that they contend were protected by presidential immunity, and they cited a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that they said came too late for their original appeal.