The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear President Donald Trump’s appeal seeking to overturn a $5 million civil judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll, leaving intact a jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming her.
According to The New York Times, the justices denied Trump’s petition without comment, bringing to a close his legal challenge to the May 2023 verdict. No dissents were publicly noted.
A federal jury in New York had found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and for defaming her through social media posts in which he dismissed her allegations as a hoax and con job. Trump has consistently denied the allegations.
ALSO READ: Iran ‘Requested A Meeting’, Scheduled In Doha Tomorrow, Trump Says Amid Hormuz Faceoff
Trump had argued before the Supreme Court that the trial judge improperly allowed testimony from two other women who accused him of sexual misconduct, as well as excerpts from the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording, contending the evidence unfairly influenced the jury.
However, a federal appeals court upheld the verdict in December 2024, ruling that Trump failed to demonstrate that the disputed evidence deprived him of a fair trial. The Supreme Court’s decision leaves that ruling undisturbed.
The legal battle between Trump and Carroll is not over. A separate defamation judgment ordering Trump to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defamatory statements he made in 2019 after she publicly accused him of rape is also expected to reach the Supreme Court. Trump’s legal team has indicated it plans to seek the court’s review in that case as well.
ALSO READ: Ladakh Fines Tourists Rs 50,000 Each For Illegal Off-Roading; Thar, Creta, Fortuner Seized
Monday’s decision marks another legal setback for the president, ending his bid to overturn one of the most significant civil judgments against him.