Marking a novel development in his years-long legal battle with E. Jean Carroll, President Trump formally accepted defeat on Tuesday, withdrawing a failed effort to claw back some $5 million from the writer whom he was held liable for sexually abusing.
In a one-page order, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Trump’s appeal with prejudice, as agreed to by both sides, and noted he had withdrawn a motion seeking to pause a lower court ruling directing the payout. Trump’s appeal bid had been rendered null and void after he struck out at the U.S. Supreme Court twice this summer.
The July 9 release of funds to Carroll was triggered after the nation’s highest court declined to take up Trump’s appeal at the end of its term in June. Trump tried to claw back the money and asked the justices to reconsider, but they shot him down again in August, rendering moot the matter thrown out on Tuesday.
While a formality, Trump throwing in the towel was a rare sight on the lengthy court dockets covering his litigation with Carroll.
The money — totaling around $5.8 million, with interest — had been locked away in escrow for three years as Trump relentlessly appealed a jury’s May 2023 verdict finding he sexually assaulted Carroll, 82, inside a Midtown department store in 1996.
The former “Elle” columnist is still waiting to be paid the additional $83 million Trump owes her in a separate lawsuit she also won in 2023.
Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the findings in that case holding him liable for repeatedly defaming Carroll after she went public with her allegations, resulting in a torrent of death threats. A jury in January 2024 decided the mammoth sum owed.
In a statement, a spokesman for Trump’s legal team said, “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes. President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.”
Carroll’s lawyer declined to comment.
