E. Jean Carroll, the writer and former advice columnist, has received a $5.6 million payment from President Donald Trump, according to a July 14, 2026, filing on the federal court docket in Manhattan. The money, $5,625,005.48 in total, was disbursed to Carroll’s attorneys on July 9, 2026, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s final appeal of a 2023 civil jury verdict.
Key Facts
- Amount paid: $5,625,005.48, combining the jury’s original $5 million damages award with post-judgment interest that accrued over roughly three years.
- Date disbursed: July 9, 2026, according to a notice on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s online docket, which became public July 14, 2026.
- Underlying verdict: A unanimous nine-person federal jury found Trump liable in May 2023 for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, a civil, not criminal, finding.
- Why now: The Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal on June 29, 2026, clearing the way for U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to order the funds released.
- Separate case still pending: An $83.3 million defamation judgment against Trump from a different Carroll lawsuit has not been paid and remains under appeal.
- Trump’s position: Trump has consistently and publicly denied Carroll’s allegations and has said he plans to continue challenging the rulings against him.
Why did Trump pay E. Jean Carroll $5.6 million?
Trump paid Carroll $5.6 million because a federal jury found him liable in May 2023 for sexually abusing and defaming her, and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. The money sat in a court-controlled account during the years of appeals. After the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s final appeal on June 29, 2026, a federal judge ordered the funds, plus accrued interest, released to Carroll on July 9, 2026.
What happened?
According to court records, $5,625,005.48 was transferred from a court-controlled account to the law firm representing Carroll on July 9, 2026. The transfer became publicly known through a docket filing five days later, on July 14, 2026. The payment satisfies the damages portion of a federal civil judgment that had stood, unpaid, since 2023 while Trump pursued a series of appeals.
Why E. Jean Carroll received the payment
Carroll filed a civil lawsuit against Trump in 2022 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily allowed people to sue over decades-old sexual assault allegations that they could not normally pursue because of the statute of limitations.. In that lawsuit, Carroll alleged Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s, an incident she first publicly described in a 2019 memoir. She also alleged that Trump defamed her by publicly denying the accusation, saying she was not his “type,” and suggesting she fabricated the claim to sell books.
What the jury decided in the civil case
The case went to trial in April and May 2023. According to court filings, the jury was asked to weigh three possible categories of liability under New York law: rape, sexual abuse, and forcible touching. The jury did not find Trump liable for rape under the state’s narrow legal definition at the time, which required proof of forcible penile penetration. Instead, the jury found Trump liable for a lesser degree of sexual abuse and for defamation, and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump did not attend the trial, and his attorneys called no witnesses.
It is important to distinguish this outcome from a criminal conviction. This was a civil lawsuit, decided by a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, not a criminal prosecution decided beyond a reasonable doubt. Trump has not been criminally charged or convicted in either Carroll case, and he has denied her allegations throughout the litigation.
Why did the payment happen now
Trump deposited money with the court following the 2023 verdict, but the funds remained in escrow while he appealed. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $5 million verdict on December 30, 2024. and later, in April 2026, declined to grant Trump a rehearing before the full appeals court. Trump then petitioned the Supreme Court, which, on June 29, 2026, declined to take up the case without noted dissent, leaving the 2023 verdict and the $5 million judgment intact.
Trump’s legal team subsequently asked the Supreme Court to reconsider that decision and asked the trial court to keep the funds frozen in the meantime. Judge Kaplan rejected that request on July 8, 2026, writing that Trump “has been stalling this case for years” and that it was time for him to pay the judgment. Hours later, the Second Circuit separately denied Trump’s request to pause the release of funds. The money was disbursed to Carroll’s legal team the next day, July 9, 2026.
What happened with Trump’s appeal?
Trump exhausted his standard appellate options in this case. The Second Circuit affirmed the jury verdict, the full appeals court declined to rehear it, and the Supreme Court declined to review it. Trump’s lawyers have indicated they intend to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its June 29 decision, a procedural step that legal experts and Judge Kaplan himself have described as rarely successful. The reconsideration request does not change the payment already made. Carroll’s attorneys said they will keep the funds in an interest-bearing account while the Supreme Court reviews the final request, according to a court filing cited by CNN.
The difference between this case and the separate defamation judgment
Carroll has two separate legal victories against Trump, and the $5.6 million payment involves only one of them.
The $5.6 million payment stems from Carroll’s 2022 lawsuit, which combined a sexual abuse claim with a defamation claim and went to trial first, in May 2023.
A second, larger judgment, $83.3 million, comes from a different lawsuit Carroll originally filed in 2019, focused solely on defamation over statements Trump made while serving as president that year. That case was delayed for years by legal disputes over presidential immunity. A jury awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages in that case in January 2024. Trump is still appealing that judgment, has posted a bond to cover it during the appeal, and has not paid it. Carroll has not received any money from the $83.3 million verdict.
Trump’s response and legal position
Trump has broadly and repeatedly denied Carroll’s allegations, both in and out of court, saying he does not know her. Following the Supreme Court’s June 29 decision, Trump said on social media that he would continue fighting the case. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team characterized the litigation as politically motivated following Judge Kaplan’s July 8 order. Trump’s attorneys have argued that presidential immunity protects the statements he made while serving as president in the still-pending $83.3 million case.
Carroll’s response
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment in a statement, saying a unanimous nine-person jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll three years earlier, and that Carroll has now received the damages awarded by the jury.
Her legal team said in court filings that she plans to place the funds in an interest-bearing account while Trump’s request for Supreme Court reconsideration remains pending.
What happens next?
Two things remain open. First, Trump’s request that the Supreme Court reconsider its decision not to hear his appeal in the $5.6 million case is still pending; such requests are rarely granted. Second, the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment remains under appeal, with Trump’s legal team expected to petition the Supreme Court to review that case as well. Carroll has not received any payment toward that judgment.
Background Timeline
- 2019: Carroll publicly accuses Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s; Trump denies the claim and calls her a liar. Carroll sues him for defamation.
- 2022: Carroll files a second lawsuit, combining a sexual abuse claim under New York’s Adult Survivors Act with a defamation claim.
- May 2023: A federal jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the 2022 case and awards Carroll $5 million.
- January 2024: A separate jury awards Carroll $83.3 million in the original 2019 defamation case.
- September 2025: The Second Circuit upholds the $5 million verdict.
- April 2026: The full Second Circuit declines to rehear Trump’s appeal of the $5 million verdict.
- June 29, 2026: The Supreme Court declines to hear Trump’s appeal, leaving the $5 million verdict intact.
- July 8, 2026: A federal judge orders the release of the funds; an appeals court denies Trump’s request to pause the payment.
- July 9, 2026: More than $5.6 million is disbursed to Carroll’s attorneys.
- July 14, 2026: The disbursement becomes public through a court filing.
At a Glance
E. Jean Carroll received approximately $5.6 million, including interest from Donald Trump on July 9, 2026, combining a 2023 jury’s $5 million civil damages award with accrued interest. The payment followed the Supreme Court’s June 29, 2026, decision not to hear Trump’s appeal. It is separate from an unpaid $83.3 million defamation judgment against Trump from a different Carroll lawsuit, which remains under appeal.
Final Summary
More than three years after a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll, she has received the $5 million the jury awarded her, plus interest, totaling $5,625,005.48. The payment followed the exhaustion of Trump’s appeals through the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court. A separate, larger defamation judgment of $83.3 million against Trump, from a different lawsuit, remains unpaid and under appeal. Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations throughout both cases, which are civil matters and do not involve criminal charges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Why did E. Jean Carroll receive $5.6 million?
Carroll received $5.6 million because a federal jury found Donald Trump liable in May 2023 for sexually abusing and defaming her, awarding her $5 million in damages. The money remained in a court-controlled account during Trump’s appeals. After the Supreme Court declined to hear his final appeal on June 29, 2026, a judge ordered the funds released, and $5,625,005.48, the original award plus interest, was disbursed on July 9, 2026.
Q2. Did the Supreme Court reject Trump’s appeal?
Yes. On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined, without noted dissent, to hear Trump’s appeal of the 2023 jury verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. That left the verdict and the $5 million damages award in place. Trump’s legal team has since asked the Supreme Court to reconsider that decision, a request that is still pending as of this writing.
Q3. Was this a criminal or civil case?
This was a civil case, not a criminal prosecution. A civil jury decided, using a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, that Trump was liable for sexual abuse and defamation and ordered him to pay monetary damages. Trump has not been criminally charged or convicted in connection with Carroll’s allegations, and he has denied them throughout the litigation.
Q4. What did the jury find Trump liable for?
In May 2023, a nine-person federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, a lesser degree of liability than rape under New York law at the time, and for defaming her through statements denying her account. The jury did not find Trump liable for rape specifically. It awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for both claims combined.
Q5. Is this payment connected to the larger defamation judgment?
No, they are separate. The $5.6 million payment resolves damages from Carroll’s 2022 lawsuit, which went to trial in 2023. A different lawsuit, filed by Carroll in 2019, resulted in a separate $83.3 million defamation judgment in January 2024. That larger judgment remains under appeal, and Trump has not paid it.
