E Jean Carroll paid out by Trump in sex abuse case
Author E Jean Carroll collected millions of dollars from Donald Trump after a jury found the US president liable for sexually harassing and defaming her in 2023, according to court records.
Over Trump’s objections, the money, about $5.63 million ($8.06 million), was released to Carroll’s law firm on Monday, five days after U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan authorized the payment from a court-supervised account.
The payment represents the original US$5 million ($7.2 million) civil judgment plus interest.
This is the first time Trump has been forced to pay Carroll. She won a US$88.3 million ($126.4 million) civil judgment against the president in the seven years since she first denied raping her in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman store in Manhattan around 1996.
Trump called Carroll’s allegations a hoax, denied knowing her, said she made up the rape allegation to help sell her memoirs, and derided her case as “using a gun and being unlawful.” Last month, the US Supreme Court rejected Trump’s appeal of the decision.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team repeated the statement he made after Kaplan’s decision: “The American people stand with President Trump in demanding an immediate end to all Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoaxes.”
Last week, Trump’s lawyer asked the federal appeals court to block a payment, saying the president would suffer “irreparable harm” if Carroll followed through on his intention to give the money because the money could not be recovered.
The lawyer also said it didn’t matter that Carroll had assured him he would now put the money into an interest-bearing account to fund his retirement, because he could still distribute the money.
Jurors awarded Carroll millions of dollars in 2022 based on Trump’s denial, but they failed to find that Trump raped her.
A different jury in 2024 had ordered Trump to pay Carroll US$83.3 million ($A119.2 million) based on her initial rejection in 2019 during his first term in the White House.
Trump is expected to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said in a statement: “Three years ago, a nine-person jury unanimously found President Trump liable for the sexual assault and insult of E Jean Carroll. We are pleased to report that he received the damages the jury awarded him.”
