Court Orders Trump to Pay Carroll $5.8M, He Appeals

A federal judge has ruled that writer E. Jean Carroll is entitled to $5.8 million from Donald Trump in the sexual abuse case, but the former president has filed an appeal to block the payment.

Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the order on Wednesday, allowing Carroll to collect the initial $5 million award plus interest. The civil verdict was reached back in 2023, and Trump deposited the money into an account, but Carroll has yet to receive it, according to the Associated Press.

The judge's decision follows a lengthy process where Carroll's lawyers sought the disbursement after the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 verdict. Meanwhile, Trump continued his attacks on Carroll while his legal team explored asking the high court to reconsider.

Carroll testified that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room of a Manhattan department store after a chance encounter. The jury reached its verdict, but Trump did not attend the trial.

Carroll first spoke publicly about the attack in her 2019 memoir, during Trump's first term. After the allegations emerged, Trump insisted he never knew Carroll and accused her of political motives.

Earlier reports suggested Carroll was the target of a federal criminal investigation, but those claims were disputed by the U.S. Attorney's office.

This case remains one of the most high-profile in the series of legal battles surrounding Trump, and his appeal could delay the payment for months or even years.