A federal judge has ruled that writer E. Jean Carroll is entitled to collect $5.8 million that has been held in escrow following a jury verdict that found President Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The decision came Wednesday, and Trump’s legal team immediately filed an appeal seeking to block the payment.
The funds were deposited by Trump shortly after a jury ruled against him in 2023. The original $5 million award has increased due to accumulated interest. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to overturn the civil verdict, paving the way for Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to authorize the release of the money to Carroll.
The case stems from an incident that allegedly occurred in 1996 at a luxury Manhattan department store, where the jury determined Trump attacked Carroll in a dressing room. Carroll, now 82 and a former advice columnist, went public with her account in a 2019 memoir. Trump has consistently denied the allegations, famously stating that Carroll was “not my type” and accusing her of fabricating the story to boost book sales.
Late Wednesday, Judge Eunice C. Lee of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s emergency request to halt the transfer of funds. Carroll’s attorneys emphasized in court filings that their client has waited more than three years for the jury’s verdict to be honored and should not face further delays.
Trump faces additional legal exposure in a related case, as he is also appealing an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury following a 2024 trial. Judge Kaplan stated in his memorandum that Trump has been stalling the proceedings for years and that it is time for him to pay what he owes.
