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Supreme Court Won’t Save Trump From Paying E. Jean Carroll $5m

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The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a 2023 jury verdict holding him liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E. Jean Carroll, dealing a final blow to the president’s effort to thwart one of the most significant legal victories against him.

Carroll’s lawsuit accused Trump of raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then describing her allegations as a “hoax” after she went public with them during the first term of his presidency.

The Supreme Court's decision not to intervene means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million judgment, plus interest, that the jury awarded her. Trump, however, is still appealing a much larger judgment — $83.3 million plus interest — awarded to Carroll after a second trial that found Trump liable for other acts of defamation.

The justices didn’t provide any explanation for Monday’s decision.

A lawyer for Carroll didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time of the 2023 trial, Trump called the verdict “a disgrace.”