Trump wasn't done fighting E Jean Carroll at Supreme Court, justices deliver another blow
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has suffered another setback in his long-running legal battle with writer E Jean Carroll after the Supreme Court declined to reconsider its earlier decision not to hear his challenge to a $5 million civil verdict.
The latest development follows an unusual attempt by Trump’s legal team to get the justices to revisit a decision they had already made.
The case stems from Carroll’s lawsuit over allegations over an incident in a New York department store dressing room in the 1990s and later defamed her by publicly denying the allegations. Trump has denied wrongdoing and has said he does not know Carroll.
Trump makes rare second court bid
The Supreme Court initially declined to hear Trump’s appeal on June 29, leaving intact the jury’s $5 million award from the 2023 trial. Trump then pursued a rehearing, an unusual request asking the justices to reconsider their refusal.
The court record shows that Trump’s petition for rehearing was not accepted for filing on July 6. His legal team had argued that another Carroll case, involving statements Trump made while president, raised overlapping questions about presidential immunity that could affect the earlier verdict.
That second case is now separately before the Supreme Court. Trump filed a new petition in July seeking review of a Second Circuit ruling involving Carroll’s $83 million defamation judgment, with the Supreme Court docket showing the petition was filed July 28 and remains pending.
$5 million verdict becomes first payment
The latest Supreme Court setback also closed the main avenue Trump had used to delay payment of the earlier judgment. A federal judge subsequently authorized the release of funds that had been held in a court-controlled account while Trump pursued his appeals.
Carroll ultimately received about $5.63 million, representing the original $5 million verdict plus interest. The payment was released in July after the Supreme Court declined to review the case.
The 2023 jury found Trump liable for defamation. The verdict did not find him liable for r**e under the legal definition at issue in the case.
Trump’s separate challenge involving the much larger $83 million defamation judgment remains unresolved. The Supreme Court docket shows that case is now moving through the normal petition process, meaning the latest development does not end his broader legal fight with Carroll.
