E. Jean Carroll receives $5.62 million sex abuse, defamation payment from Trump after yearslong wait

Three years after a jury concluded President Trump should pay $5 million in damages to the writer E. Jean Carroll for sexual abuse and defamation, she has at last been paid.

For Carroll, it's a wait that began long before her federal civil lawsuit went to trial in 2023. The writer first went public with her story in 2019, accusing Mr. Trump of assaulting her in a department store dressing room three decades ago. The jury unanimously concluded a preponderance of evidence supported her claim.

Court records show Carroll received $5.62 million, including interest. 

Carroll sent a triumphant email to readers of her Substack blog Tuesday, writing "The Eagle Has Landed," thanking more than a dozen current and former members of her legal team. She also included a line directed at one of Mr. Trump's former attorneys, who for years led his defense in Carroll's cases.

"And . . . a special, special thanks to Alina Habba Esq.! I could not have done it without you," Carroll wrote.

Carroll's lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, hailed the writer's victory in a statement to CBS News.

"Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll," Kaplan said. "Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict."

The money had been held in a court-controlled bank account, but the Supreme Court cleared the way for Carroll to be paid when it decided on June 29 against hearing Mr. Trump's appeal. 

That day, Carroll celebrated her win in a brief note on her blog, writing in all capital letters, "WE WON!"

"THIS WIN IS FOR EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD!" Carroll wrote.

In the days since, her lawyer and Mr. Trump's have engaged in a bitter tit-for-tat as she sought to speed up disbursement of the funds, and he sought to indefinitely delay payment. Mr. Trump asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its rejection of his appeal. Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan called the move, "gamesmanship," while asking the trial judge to hurry release of the funds from a court-controlled bank account.

The unanimous federal jury found that, more likely than not, Mr. Trump forcibly inserted his fingers into Carroll after a chance meeting while shopping at a New York City Bergdorf Goodman. What started as a pleasant walk through the store — Carroll helping Mr. Trump choose a present for another woman — turned violent in a changing room, she alleged. 

Mr. Trump did not attend the 2023 civil trial, and his attorneys called no witnesses before the jury awarded Carroll $5 million. The six men and three women of the jury deliberated for under three hours.

Carroll's lawsuit made claims of sexual abuse, defamation and rape, as defined by New York's penal code. The jury found Mr. Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but rejected the rape claim. The state's statute requires proof of forceful penetration involving the attacker's genitals.

The judge later wrote that New York's law is out of touch with federal standards and a "modern" understanding of rape. In post-trial rulings he wrote that Carroll's assertion that Trump raped her was "substantially true."

Carroll's attorneys argued that her allegations fit a pattern, or "modus operandi," for Mr. Trump. Two other women called as witnesses described Mr. Trump suddenly turning casual confrontations into acts of alleged sexual misconduct. The jurors were also shown an "Access Hollywood" video clip, first made famous during Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, in which Trump could be heard describing himself grabbing women's genitals.

For Carroll, age 82, the jury's award closes one chapter of a long campaign she has waged to hold Mr. Trump accountable for the alleged abuse, while she awaits closure from another trial.

Mr. Trump has consistently denied Carroll's allegations and has also appealed a separate federal jury's January 2024 verdict finding him liable for making further defamatory statements against Carroll. That jury awarded her another $83 million. 

Lawyers for Mr. Trump have indicated they will also bring that case to the Supreme Court.