NEW YORK, United States — A federal judge has ordered the release of the Trump Carroll payment held in court escrow, allowing E. Jean Carroll to collect $5 million in damages and about $800,000 in interest after a jury found that President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed her.
The order, issued on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court in Manhattan, came after the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal of the 2023 verdict.
Trump’s lawyers had asked Kaplan to delay the release of the funds while they sought reconsideration from the Supreme Court, a request that would have kept the money in escrow for several more months.
Kaplan rejected that argument, saying Trump had already exhausted the main avenue of appeal.
“A jury unanimously concluded that he sexually abused and defamed plaintiff and awarded her damages accordingly. The judgment on that verdict has been upheld on appeal,” the judge wrote.
“It’s time for him to ‘do equity’ and pay the judgment,” Kaplan added.
Trump Carroll Payment Released From Escrow
The money had been placed in a court-controlled account while Trump appealed the verdict.
Carroll’s lawyers argued that Trump’s legal team had previously agreed that the funds could be released if the Supreme Court refused to take up the case.
Trump’s lawyers said the matter remained technically before the Supreme Court because they had asked the justices to reconsider their refusal.
They argued that releasing the money now could cause Trump irreparable harm if Carroll later gave away the funds and the verdict was overturned.
Carroll’s lawyers said their client had waited long enough.
Kaplan sided with Carroll, writing that Trump “has been stalling this case for years.”
Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal hours after Kaplan’s order and asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an immediate temporary pause.
The appeals court denied the request late Wednesday.
Trump Legal Team Denounces Case
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team criticised Kaplan’s order and repeated Trump’s attacks on the case.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations and has said he does not know her.
After the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, he posted on social media that he would “continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.”
The case arose from a 2022 lawsuit Carroll filed under a New York law that allowed some civil claims over older sexual abuse allegations to proceed after the statute of limitations had expired.
Carroll accused Trump of assaulting her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1996 and later defaming her when he denied the allegation after leaving office.
Separate $83.3m Verdict Still Under Challenge
The escrow order concerns the 2023 verdict, in which a jury awarded Carroll $5 million after finding Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation.
A separate defamation case brought by Carroll resulted in an $83.3 million judgment against Trump in 2024.
A federal appeals court rejected Trump’s bid to overturn that verdict earlier this year, and his lawyers have said they plan to seek Supreme Court review in that case as well.
Trump’s lawyers argued that the pending challenge in the larger defamation case supported their request to delay payment in the $5 million case.
They said the jury in the earlier case had been shown statements Trump made in 2019, when he was president, that they now argue were protected by presidential immunity.
Carroll’s lawyers said Trump was trying to prolong the case and avoid payment.
Kaplan’s order clears the way for Carroll to receive the funds unless a higher court intervenes.
