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More than three years after a judge found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse against journalist E. Jean Carroll, the plaintiff has finally collected.
According to court filings and Carroll’s legal team, more than $5.6 million has now been released to her after sitting in a court-controlled account throughout Trump’s appeals process.
The total includes the original $5 million judgment, along with accrued interest.
The payment comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal of the 2023 civil verdict, clearing the way for the funds to be distributed.
Carroll confirmed the payment in a public statement, writing that she had finally received the money awarded to her by the jury.
Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, also confirmed the funds had been transferred, calling it the conclusion of one chapter in a legal battle that has stretched on for years.
The case stemmed from Carroll’s allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her inside a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s before later defaming her by publicly denying her claims.
In May 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, though not liable for rape under New York’s legal definition in effect at the time. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations and has repeatedly characterized the lawsuits as politically motivated.
His attorneys have continued challenging the verdicts, even after the Supreme Court declined to review the 2023 judgment.
However, Trump’s legal troubles with Carroll are not over.
He is still appealing a separate 2024 judgment ordering him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamatory statements he made after first denying her allegations. That award remains tied up in ongoing appeals.
For Carroll, the payment represents the first time she has actually collected damages stemming from the 2023 verdict.
For Trump, it marks another significant legal setback in a case that has followed him through multiple campaigns, court battles and appeals.
And it’s a case whose financial consequences may not yet be over.
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