The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review President Donald Trump’s appeal of a $5 million verdict finding he sexually abused and defamed writer E. Jean Carroll, leaving the 2023 judgment in place.
The justices rejected the appeal in a short order that gave no reasons. In Trump v. Carroll, No. 25-573, the Supreme Court docket recorded the petition as denied on June 29. The jury’s verdict and the judgment against him remain in place.
Trump responded on Truth Social, calling the matter a “Fake Case” and saying he had never met the woman who sued him.
“I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength,” he wrote.
“I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me … with all of my power and strength.” — Donald Trump
He also said the case was “really against the United States of America” and argued that New York created a law “for an instant speck of time” to target him.
Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the decision affirms the jury’s verdict. In a statement, she said Trump’s appeals had all failed and the ruling ends his effort to avoid accountability.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said Americans stand with the president and demanded an end to what it called the “Witch Hunts,” including the Carroll litigation.
Carroll alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s. In 2023, a jury found him liable for both the abuse and for defaming her.
She went public with her account in a 2019 magazine article. She sued in 2022 under a New York law that let sexual abuse victims bring civil claims over incidents from years earlier. Trump has denied her allegation.
On appeal, Trump’s lawyers argued the trial judge wrongly allowed testimony from two other women who accused him of sexual misconduct and let jurors view the “Access Hollywood” tape.
None of the justices, three of whom were appointed by Trump, issued a written dissent.
A separate defamation case, in which a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million, remains on appeal, with Trump arguing the claims should be dismissed on presidential immunity grounds.
Trump transferred $5.5 million to a court-controlled account in 2023 following the jury verdict.
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