Judge Orders $5.8 Million Released to E. Jean Carroll in Trump Case

Summary

A federal judge has ordered the release of $5.8 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, ending a three-year wait for money that a 2023 civil jury awarded her after finding Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The funds had been sitting in a court-controlled escrow account since that verdict, and Trump's legal team made last-minute filings arguing the money should stay put. The judge rejected those objections, noting that Trump had been stalling and that it was simply time to pay. Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, sued Trump over an incident she said occurred in a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The 2023 jury found Trump liable and set damages; subsequent proceedings adjusted and confirmed the total, which now includes accumulated interest on top of the original award. The case is one of several civil and criminal legal matters that have followed Trump through his return to the presidency. Carroll's attorneys had pushed for the release of the escrowed funds, and the judge sided with them over Trump's protests.