US Supreme Court again rejects Trump bid to overturn Carroll sexual abuse verdict
The US Supreme Court has for a second time declined to hear President Donald Trump's appeal seeking to overturn a civil jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll. The court's order, issued without explanation, was posted on Monday.
In June, the top court had already denied a previous attempt by Trump to review the civil case. The latest decision effectively makes the jury's verdict final, according to Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan.
The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing and argued that the judge overseeing the civil trial improperly allowed evidence that may have influenced the jury's perception of him. In particular, Trump's lawyers contended that jurors should not have been shown a 2005 Access Hollywood recording in which Trump used crude language while discussing groping and kissing women.
In July, Trump paid Carroll more than $5 million (approximately £3.6 million) in damages. The payment was in response to Carroll's civil claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s in a Manhattan department store dressing room, and that he defamed her by denying the incident on social media in 2022, saying she was “not my type.”
Following the Supreme Court's decision, Carroll expressed gratitude to her legal team and supporters. In a newsletter on Monday, she wrote: “One old lady can not make a difference. But when that old lady has a team of the most brilliant attorneys in America, and when that old lady has the support of women around the world, that old lady can do the impossible.”
Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, stated: “The jury's verdict that Donald Trump sexually assaulted and then defamed E. Jean Carroll is now final and cannot be challenged in any court.”
The Supreme Court's order list did not offer any reasoning for declining to rehear the case. Legal experts noted that Trump's request to reconsider the earlier June rejection was an unusual long-shot legal manoeuvre, as such requests are rarely granted.
Trump has yet to comment on the court's latest decision. In a lengthy Truth Social post after the June denial, he vowed to continue fighting what he called the “weaponisation and lawfare case” and the “ridiculous” claim of defamation. He also wrote: “This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for, and should never be allowed to happen to another President, or Candidate to be.”
The case is one of several legal battles involving Trump. He has also asked the Supreme Court to overturn a separate federal civil defamation verdict that awarded Carroll $83.3 million. In that appeal, his lawyers argue that Trump cannot be sued for comments made while he was president. The court has not yet decided on that matter.
