The Supreme Court denied Trump's appeal, and the sexual assault verdict stands.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected former President Donald Trump's appeal regarding a judgment against him for sexual assault and defamation, leaving the ruling intact. As a result, Trump will now have to pay E. Jean Carroll, a former journalist and columnist, $5 million (approximately €4.4 million) in damages. The case dates back to a lawsuit filed in 2022, where Carroll alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s at a department store in New York City and later defamed her by claiming she had fabricated the story to boost the sales of her book.

The legal proceedings began when Carroll first sued Trump in 2019 over defamation, but the case was dismissed due to statute of limitations. However, after New York passed a law allowing victims of sexual misconduct to file civil lawsuits even beyond the previous time limits, Carroll refiled her claim in 2022, this time including allegations of sexual assault. This new case was heard first by the court, and the jury ruled in favor of Carroll, awarding her $5 million in compensation. A subsequent trial on the 2019 defamation claim resulted in a separate judgment of $83 million (around €73 million) against Trump. Combined with interest, the total amount he owes Carroll exceeds $100 million (€87.7 million).

Carroll’s claims centered around an incident in the mid-1990s, during which she alleges Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store in New York. She further stated that Trump later defamed her by suggesting she had invented the story to increase the sales of her memoir. During his appeal, Trump argued that the judge should not have allowed the jury to hear testimony from two other women who also claimed they were sexually assaulted by him. Additionally, Trump contended that the judge should not have permitted the jury to view a clip from the 2005 "Access Hollywood" interview, in which he famously said, “I don’t always do what I want. But I do what I want.”

In response to Trump’s appeals, Carroll’s attorneys cited the decision of the appellate court, which upheld the jury’s verdict. The appellate court emphasized that the court’s role was simply to determine whether the jury could reasonably conclude based on the evidence that Trump committed the sexual assault. There were no objections raised at the Supreme Court level regarding this point.

Following the jury’s initial ruling in 2022, Trump made a payment of $5.5 million (approximately €4.8 million) into a court-supervised account, meaning that Carroll is likely to receive at least part of the awarded damages relatively quickly.

The Supreme Court also addressed several other cases involving Trump today. By a narrow majority, the court blocked Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Additionally, the court rejected a decision that would have prevented state election commissions from accepting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

The rejection of Trump’s appeal marks another significant setback for him, following recent decisions by the Supreme Court. His legal team expressed disappointment, stating that the American public stands behind President Trump as he seeks immediate action to stop what they describe as a witch hunt, including what they call the fabrications of Carroll’s claims, which they believe are being funded by Democrats. They added that Trump will continue to win against liberal justice while focusing on his mission to make America great again.

Last year, the appellate court confirmed the jury’s verdict against Trump and ruled that the judge did not commit errors that would warrant a retrial. In June 2025, the court also denied Trump’s request for a full Senate of judges to review his appeal, prompting him to take the matter to the Supreme Court.

In January, Trump’s lawyers submitted a complaint to the Supreme Court, arguing that it was extremely harmful to the structure of the republic that the president, during a historic presidency, must divert attention from his sole executive duties to fight decade-old false accusations and countless charges in this baseless case. They added that such poor treatment of the president cannot be allowed to continue.

The Supreme Court delayed the consideration of Trump’s appeal for several months without providing specific reasons for the delay. It is believed that Trump’s legal team will soon file additional appeals related to the $83 million judgment against him.