Judge rules E. Jean Carroll to receive $5.8 million from Trump case

A federal judge has ordered writer E. Jean Carroll to be paid $5.8 million after a jury found that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her. Trump's legal team has appealed the decision to halt the payment. The amount, which has accrued interest from an initial $5 million award, was deposited by Trump into an account. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the 2023 civil verdict, allowing Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to authorize the release of the funds. The jury determined that Trump attacked Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996 and subsequently defamed her after she discussed the incident in a 2019 memoir. Trump's attorneys have appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to contest the order. The Manhattan jury reached its verdict without Trump's presence during the trial, where Carroll testified about the incident. Trump has consistently claimed he does not know Carroll and accused her of having ulterior motives. Additionally, Trump is appealing an $83 million defamation award granted to Carroll by a separate jury in a trial held in January 2024.