US Supreme Court rejects Trump's second bid to overturn Carroll verdict
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined for a second time to review President Donald Trump's request to overturn a civil jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll. Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan said the unanimous verdict is now final and cannot be challenged in any court. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has yet to comment on the latest decision.
Key Facts
- Trump paid Carroll more than $5 million in damages in July over her claim that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.
- A separate jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83 million for defaming her, and a federal appeals panel denied his appeal in September.
- Carroll's defamation claim stems from a 2022 Truth Social post in which Trump denied her allegations and said she was "not my type".
- Trump's lawyers argued that jurors should not have seen the 2005 Access Hollywood footage in which he used crude language about groping and kissing women.
Supreme Court Denial
The Supreme Court's order list on Monday showed the justices declined to rehear Trump's request without explanation. The decision marks the second time the court has refused to review the case, following a prior denial in June. Trump has yet to comment on the latest decision.
Carroll's Judgments
Carroll, a former magazine columnist now 82, sued Trump over an attack in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. In July, Trump paid Carroll more than $5 million in damages over her civil claim that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and later branded the incident a hoax on social media. The defamation finding stemmed from a 2022 Truth Social post in which Trump denied the claims and said Carroll was "not my type". Trump's comments about the jury's findings in that case led a separate jury to order him to pay Carroll $83 million for defaming her. A panel of federal judges denied his appeal of the $83 million judgment in September.
Trump's Defense
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and argued the judge who oversaw the civil trial improperly allowed evidence that affected the jury's perceptions of him. Trump's lawyers argued in the initial petition that jurors should not have seen the 2005 Access Hollywood footage in which he used crude language discussing groping and kissing women. In a Truth Social post after the June decision, Trump vowed to continue battling what he called the "weaponisation and lawfare case" and the "ridiculous" claim of defamation.
2 sources
US Supreme Court rejects Trump's second bid to overturn Carroll verdict
