Donald Trump pays $5.6 million to E. Jean Carroll after abuse verdict
A New York jury in 2023 found former President Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million in damages. Interest accumulated, bringing the total to $5,625,005.48. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the funds released in July 2026. The money was transferred from a court‑supervised escrow account to Carroll’s lawyers, who said she will place it in an interest‑bearing retirement account.
Trump’s legal team has repeatedly sought to block the disbursement, filing emergency motions and requesting a stay pending a rehearing petition, but courts have denied those requests. A separate jury later awarded Carroll $83.3 million for defamation, a judgment that remains under appeal.
Separately, a watchdog group disclosed that LinkedIn co‑founder Reid Hoffman’s nonprofit funded Carroll’s litigation with $7 million, prompting an ethics complaint against her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, for allegedly failing to disclose the funding promptly.