The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear President Donald Trump's bid to overturn a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll in a case in which a jury found him liable for sexually abusing the former magazine columnist and then defaming her.
The high court declined to take up the case in a brief, unexplained order, as is typical. There were no noted dissents.
Trump’s lawyers had argued that allegations leading to the $5 million verdict were propped up by “highly inflammatory” evidentiary rulings, including those that allowed the testimony of two other women who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago. Trump has denied all three women’s allegations.
Trump's attorneys argued the judge broke federal evidence rules in the case. They framed it as a distraction from Trump’s unique duties as president.
"Carroll waited more than 20 years to falsely accuse Donald Trump, who she politically opposes, until after he became the 45th President, when she could maximize political injury to him and profit for herself," his lawyers wrote in a filing.
“This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand,” Attorney Justin D. Smith wrote in court documents. Trump, a Republican, has since nominated Smith to be an appeals court judge.
Carroll's lawyers had urged the justices to pass on the case. They argued that the women's testimony was relevant because the allegations were similar and that Judge Lewis Kaplan’s decisions were in line with others around the country. “This question is not worthy of review,” wrote attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge. A message seeking comment on Monday's decision was sent to Carroll’s attorneys.
Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and former TV talk show host, testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury retailer across the street from Trump Tower in Manhattan. The jury also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll when he denied her allegation in 2022.
A jury also awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million after a second defamation trial. Trump is also appealing that ruling, though it’s not yet before the Supreme Court.
Trump has successfully fended off other hefty court judgments, including a New York civil fraud penalty of over $500 million thrown out by a New York appeals court. The Supreme Court also granted him broad immunity from criminal prosecution in 2024, though it later narrowly rejected his bid to halt sentencing in his New York hush money case.