Writer E. Jean Carroll has received $5.62 million from United States President Donald Trump, bringing to a close the payment process in the sexual abuse and defamation case she won against him in 2023.
Court records show the payment, which includes accrued interest, was released after the US Supreme Court declined on June 29 to hear Trump’s appeal, allowing the damages awarded by the jury to be paid.
Carroll confirmed the payment in a message to subscribers of her Substack newsletter on Tuesday.
“The Eagle Has Landed,” she wrote, thanking the lawyers who represented her throughout the legal battle.
She also made a pointed remark directed at Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, writing, “And… a special, special thanks to Alina Habba Esq.! I could not have done it without you.”
Carroll’s lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, described the payment as the conclusion of a landmark legal victory.
“Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict,” Kaplan said.
The funds had remained in a court-controlled bank account while Trump challenged the verdict on appeal. Following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case, Carroll’s legal team successfully requested the immediate release of the money despite efforts by Trump’s lawyers to delay the payment.
In 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll over her allegation that he assaulted her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York during the 1990s. The jury awarded her $5 million in damages after determining that the evidence supported her claims.
Trump consistently denied the allegations throughout the proceedings. He did not testify during the civil trial, and his legal team did not call any witnesses before the jury reached its verdict.
Although the jury did not find Trump liable for rape under New York law, it concluded that he was responsible for sexual abuse and defamation. A judge later ruled that Carroll’s public claim that Trump raped her was “substantially true.”
Carroll, now 82, is also awaiting the outcome of Trump’s appeal in a separate defamation case. In January 2024, another federal jury awarded her $83 million after finding Trump liable for additional defamatory statements. Trump’s legal team has indicated it intends to ask the US Supreme Court to review that judgment as well.
