The long-awaited resolution to E Jean Carroll's defamation case against Donald Trump has finally come to a close, with the US Supreme Court declining to hear his appeal. The decision means Trump will be required to pay $5 million (approximately £3.6 million) in damages, marking the end of his legal challenges to a 2023 civil verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer.
The case, which has been extensively covered in the US media, has significant implications for British readers due to its potential impact on international relationships and trade. The allegations against Trump have strained relations between the UK and the US, with many questioning the treatment of Carroll by Trump's representatives. Furthermore, the case highlights concerns about the use of defamation laws as a means of silencing victims and whistleblowers.
A New York jury last year awarded Carroll, a former magazine columnist, substantial damages after finding that Trump had indeed engaged in defamatory behaviour. The allegations centred on her claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in the mid-1990s, followed by his public denials on social media, which the jury deemed defamatory.
Following the initial verdict, a federal appeals court affirmed the jury's decision, stating that a new trial was not justified. Trump then sought intervention from the highest court in the US, the Supreme Court, in what was considered his final avenue to overturn the unanimous jury verdict. As is customary, the Supreme Court did not provide specific reasons for its decision not to take up the case.
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, issued a statement following the Supreme Court's decision, highlighting that it "affirms once and for all the jury's unanimous verdict that President Donald J Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E Jean Carroll." She added, "His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today's ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions." Trump, however, responded on his Truth Social platform, stating his intention to continue fighting what he termed a "Weaponization and Lawfare Case," which he believes is an injustice.
This case is distinct from another legal battle where a separate jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83 million for further defamation. That ruling stemmed from comments Trump made after the initial verdict, and an appeal against that decision was also denied by a panel of federal judges in September. While the jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, it did not find him liable for rape as defined under New York's penal code.
Source: US Supreme Court