Judge Tells Trump To Pay-Up

A New York federal judge has ordered President Donald Trump to pay E. Jean Carroll more than $5 million plus interest from a 2023 jury verdict that found Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the order Wednesday, directing the release of nearly $5.8 million that Trump deposited with the court three years ago to cover the May 2023 judgment. The disbursement follows the Supreme Court’s rejection on June 29 of Trump’s request to hear his appeal.

Kaplan’s ruling cited the clear terms of a prior agreement between the parties, which required the money to be paid to Carroll if the Supreme Court denied review. The judge rejected Trump’s arguments that payment should be delayed pending an unlikely request for reconsideration by the high court.

Trump’s legal team immediately appealed Kaplan’s order to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a statement, a spokesman for Trump 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. President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.”

 The case stems from Carroll’s allegation that Trump raped her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. A jury in May 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million. Trump lost a related defamation case in January 2024, resulting in an additional $83.3 million judgment.Trump’s lawyers had argued Tuesday that collection could not proceed while any Supreme Court proceedings remained pending and warned that Carroll has said she plans to donate any recovered funds, making repayment difficult if the verdict is later reversed.