WASHINGTON, United States — The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s final attempt to overturn a $5 million civil judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll.
The justices denied Trump’s request for rehearing on Monday, August 17, 2026.
There were no noted dissents, and the court gave no explanation for its decision.
The ruling leaves intact a 2023 jury verdict finding Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and later defaming her.
With interest, the judgment grew to about $5.63 million. Trump has already paid the money.
Court Had Rejected Appeal in June
The Supreme Court first declined to hear Trump’s appeal in June.
His lawyers then took the unusual step of asking the justices to reconsider that decision.
Such rehearing requests are rarely granted.
Trump had argued that his trial was unfair because US District Judge Lewis Kaplan allowed jurors to hear evidence that included testimony from two other women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
His lawyers also objected to the admission of the 2005 Access Hollywood recording in which Trump spoke about kissing and grabbing women without waiting for permission.
The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict in December 2024. The full appeals court later declined to reconsider the case.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision ends Trump’s efforts to overturn that judgment.
Carroll Won Two Cases Against Trump
Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.
Trump has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Carroll sued after Trump publicly rejected her account and accused her of fabricating it.
A federal jury in 2023 found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million.
A separate jury later ordered Trump to pay another $83.3 million for defamatory statements he made about Carroll in 2019.
Trump is challenging that larger judgment separately.
That case is also before the Supreme Court and is unaffected by Monday’s decision.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team again denounced the Carroll litigation as politically motivated following the latest ruling.
Carroll’s $5 million verdict, however, can no longer be challenged through the ordinary Supreme Court appeals process.
