WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday denied a request by President Donald Trump to overturn a jury’s verdict that he sexually abused and defamed author E. Jean Carroll.
The justices denied Trump’s appeal in the case, meaning that the 2023 jury verdict and a $5 million civil judgment stand.
The case came to light after a federal lawsuit was filed by Carroll in Manhattan, alleging that Trump assaulted her in the dressing room inside a department store in 1996. The defamation claims relate to statements he made about her after his first term in office, when he called her claims a “con job” and referred to her as a “whack job”.
Trump has denied the allegations and his legal team said in a court filing that Carroll waited until he was president to bring her claims so she could “maximize political injury to him and profit for herself.”
For his appeal, Trump argued that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan should not have allowed testimony from two other women, Jessica Leeds and Natasha Stoynoff, who had also accused Trump of sexual misconduct. He also said the jury should not have been allowed to view an excerpt from the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump is heard describing lewd behavior about women.
Carroll’s lawyers said that Kaplan allowed the evidence to be admitted as it speaks to Trump’s alleged prior conduct. Trump has denied all claims against him by all the women.
Trump is also appealing a separate but related defamation judgment involving Carroll that ordered him to pay $83 million.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed to have never met Carroll and said he will fit the decision.
I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength,” he wrote. “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.”
