E. Jean Carroll

In May 2023 a jury of nine found that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and defamed her when he called her story a “hoax” in 2022. It awarded $5 million. It did not find that he raped her under New York’s legal definition at the time, which required a specific kind of penetration. [1]

Judge Lewis Kaplan later wrote that the jury’s verdict did not mean it found Carroll failed to prove rape “as many people commonly understand” the word, and that the evidence showed he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. The Second Circuit upheld the verdict and the judge’s evidence rulings, including admitting the Access Hollywood tape and testimony from two other women. [2][1]

Trump has always denied it, says he never met her in that store and that she is “not my type.” The Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in June 2026. [3]

The second case was about statements Trump made in June 2019, while president, calling Carroll a liar. Because the first jury had already found the abuse happened, the second jury decided only damages, and in January 2024 awarded $83.3 million, including $65 million in punitive damages. [1]

The Second Circuit upheld it in September 2025. Trump’s Supreme Court petition, docket 26-141, argues in part that statements made while president are protected. As of this edition the Court had not decided whether to take it. [1][2]