Trump still owes E. Jeanne Carroll $83.3 million for sexual assault and defamation
(September 8, 2025) Earlier today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the $83.3 million defamation judgment against former President Donald Trump in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll. The decision came after Trump appealed the civil jury’s verdict, which had found him liable for repeatedly defaming Carroll following her public accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. According to PBS, the appeals panel rejected Trump’s arguments that he was protected by presidential immunity and that the damages awarded were excessive.
The court concluded that the jury’s award was “fair and reasonable” and that the district court had not erred in its rulings.
Trump’s legal team had argued that the defamation occurred while he was serving as president and therefore should be shielded by immunity. They also claimed the verdict was a “great miscarriage of justice” that could harm the presidency, according to NBC News. However, the appeals court dismissed these claims, stating that Trump’s comments were personal in nature and not part of his official duties.
Carroll’s attorneys emphasized that the president is not above the law and that the defamation stemmed from Trump’s personal conduct, not governmental policy. The jury had awarded Carroll $11 million for reputational damage, $7.3 million for emotional harm, and $65 million in punitive damages, which the court affirmed as appropriate given the “extraordinary and egregious” nature of Trump’s conduct.
In response to the ruling, Trump has continued to deny Carroll’s allegations and criticized the legal process. He has not issued a detailed public statement about the appeals court decision yet, but his legal team is expected to consider taking the case to the Supreme Court, according to Politico.
The ruling marks another legal setback for Trump, who previously lost a separate case in 2023 resulting in a $5 million judgment for sexual abuse and defamation. Both cases stem from Carroll’s lawsuits following her 2019 public accusation and Trump’s subsequent public denials and attacks.
Background: Since day one, Trump’s legal team has been trying to delay the $83.3 million judgement he was ordered to pay 80-year-old author and former magazine journalist E. Jean Carroll for defamation damages owed her. On March 7, 2024, the Judge overseeing Trump’s defamation trial ruled that the former president woud not be able to postpone that payment.
In January 2024, a federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages as a result of Trump’s defamatory statements denying he raped her, saying she wasn’t his type, and accusing her of making up the allegation to boost sales of her book. ~ CNN
Despite Trump’s attempts to delay paying the $83 million, the court denied his requests. As a result, Carroll can now begin the process of collecting on the judgment, pending more of Trump’s appeals
The story behind Carroll and the ex-president has its roots dating back to the 1990s when Carroll claimed that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a New York City department store, according to USA Today. Trump vigorously denied those allegations, paving the way for Carroll to file a defamation lawsuit against him. In 2023, Trump was found guilty of both defaming Carroll and sexually abusing her; and a jury awarded her $5 million in damages.
Trump, being Trump, continued to vigorously defame Carroll, and on January 26, 2024, in the midst of his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump was again found liable for defamation against Carroll. But this time the jury awarded her a total of $83.3 million, above, and well beyond the original $5 million.
On March 7, 2024, ABC News reported that Trump secured a $91,630,000 bond for the judgment in his defamation case brought by Carroll. In Judge Lewis A. Kaplan’s ruling, the judge wrote that he would not delay Trump’s deadlines for posting a bond that would ensure 80-year-old writer E. Jean Carroll her $83 million payment.
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
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Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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