A federal judge ordered the release of $5.8 million to E. Jean Carroll following a 2023 ruling that she was sexually abused in 1996 by Donald Trump and that he later defamed her.
Trump’s attorneys attempted to delay the payment after the Supreme Court refused to hear the president’s appeal of the award, NBC reported.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled the money be released along with interest accrued since the verdict.
“A jury unanimously concluded that he sexually abused and defamed plaintiff and awarded her damages accordingly. The judgment on that verdict has been upheld on appeal,” Kaplan wrote. “It’s time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment.”
Trump’s attorneys are pushing back pending a petition for rehearing at the Supreme Court.
NEW: Late last night, Trump’s new lawyer told SDNY Judge Lew Kaplan that E. Jean Carroll is not entitled to disbursement of the first $5 million-plus jury award. Why? Because he has a pending petition for rehearing at SCOTUS, which denied cert last month. 1/
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) July 8, 2026
Trump denies knowing Carroll after she accused him of sexually assault in a Manhattan department store dressing room during a chance encounter in 1996.
Here’s a clip of Carroll, who’s become known for very bizarre behavior, reportedly in 1996:
Here’s a clip of E. Jean Carroll in 1996 that according to her story and timeframe, would have been shortly after Trump allegedly assaulted her.
So Trump, one of if not the most famous people living in NYC at the time, went shopping in a department store, saw E. Jean Carroll… pic.twitter.com/3CxS7rxva7
— MAZE (@mazemoore) May 29, 2026
It has been a legal roller coaster between the two parties since 2019, when Carroll went public with her allegations.
BREAKING: Jury finds that Donald Trump did NOT rape E. Jean Carroll but say he did forcibly touch her.
Here is Carroll talking about the alleged incident with Anderson Cooper. She doesn’t appear to know what rape means and is clearly not well.
“I think most people think of rape… pic.twitter.com/QqvjAN5BBl
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 9, 2023
Trump’s legal team argued that the payment remains frozen until the SCOTUS decides on reconsideration. The president “faces unrecoverable loss” once Carroll collects because she “has repeatedly stated that she intends to give away all funds that she collects from him,” and “once those funds are distributed to third parties, they likely cannot be recovered,” they said, according to NBC.
Following last week’s Supreme Court decision to release the $5.8 million payment, Trump vowed 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.”
