A federal judge in Manhattan has sided with writer E. Jean Carroll in her push to collect nearly $5.8 million from President Donald Trump, rejecting his attempt to buy more time after the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal. The ruling closes off, at least for now, one of the last procedural avenues Trump’s legal team had tried to use to hold off payment. It marks another setback in a legal battle that has dragged on for years across multiple courts.
Carroll’s attorneys filed papers last Tuesday arguing that Trump was unfairly trying to stall the release of funds tied to a 2023 jury verdict. That verdict found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and for defaming her when he denied the claims publicly. With interest included, the amount owed has climbed to nearly $5.8 million, and the court’s latest order suggests the money could move soon.
Supreme Court Denial Set Off the Dispute
The fight over payment timing began almost immediately after the Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up Trump’s appeal of the underlying verdict. No justice noted a dissent from that decision, even though three of the nine sitting justices were appointed by Trump during his first term. The denial left the 2023 judgment fully intact and exhausted his standard appellate options.
Within minutes of the ruling becoming public, Trump’s legal team reached out to Carroll’s attorneys. They asked whether she would agree to hold off on collecting the award while Trump considered asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. Carroll’s side flatly refused, telling Trump’s lawyers that a prior court order already required the funds to be released once the appeal process ended.
Carroll’s Lawyers Say Cooperation Has Run Out
Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lead attorney, wrote in a filing that her client had granted Trump numerous delays throughout years of litigation. She said each of those extensions had ultimately failed to change the outcome. According to the filing, that pattern of cooperation had ended.
“To date, Carroll has agreed to each of Defendant’s many requests to delay the payment he owes her,” the attorneys wrote, according to court filings. They added that any further delay, based on the slim chance of a rehearing petition, would be neither fair nor justified. Petitions asking the Supreme Court to reconsider a denial are granted only in rare cases, and Carroll’s team argued there was no reason to assume this one would be different.
The filing also referenced a June 2023 agreement between both sides. Under that stipulation, Carroll became entitled to immediate payment once the Supreme Court declined to review the case. Her lawyers argued that the threshold had now clearly been met.
Judge Moves Quickly to Set Deadlines
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is not related to Carroll’s attorney, agreed to fast-track the dispute rather than let it linger. He ordered Trump’s legal team to respond to Carroll’s disbursement motion by July 7, cutting the standard response window roughly in half. Carroll’s lawyers will then have three additional days to reply before the matter is fully before the court.
The expedited schedule signals that the judge sees little reason to slow the process down. Judge Kaplan has previously criticized Trump’s legal strategy in the case, noting at one point that it reflected a clear pattern of seeking delay. That history appears to have shaped his decision to move quickly rather than grant additional time.
Trump has already deposited roughly $5.5 million of the disputed funds into a court-controlled account tied to the case. That amount was set aside to secure the verdict while his appeals played out. The remaining balance reflects interest accrued since the original 2023 judgment, bringing the total to $779,783, in addition to the $5 million jury award.
Case Is Separate From $83 Million Judgment
The dispute over the $5.8 million payment is distinct from a separate defamation case in which Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million. That verdict came from a different Manhattan jury in January 2024, following a trial at which Trump briefly testified. The earlier jury’s findings were treated as settled fact, leaving that panel to determine only how much Trump owed for later comments about Carroll.
Trump is continuing to appeal the larger judgment, and it remains on hold as that process unfolds. His legal team has said it intends to eventually ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on that case as well, though no formal petition has been filed. Legal experts note the two cases are moving on separate tracks and will not be resolved together.
Carroll first went public with her allegations in a 2019 memoir, describing an encounter with Trump in the mid-1990s inside a dressing room at a Manhattan department store. Trump has consistently denied the claims, saying he never met Carroll and dismissing her as not being credible. He has repeatedly characterized both lawsuits as politically motivated efforts to damage him.
After the Supreme Court’s denial became public, Trump responded on social media, describing the case as a fabrication brought by someone he said he had never met. His spokesperson later added that his legal team viewed the broader litigation against him as coordinated political attacks. Carroll’s attorneys have not ruled out further legal action if Trump continues making public statements about the case.
With the July 7 deadline now set, attention turns to whether Trump’s team will file a formal request to delay payment or comply with the disbursement motion. Legal observers say the court’s willingness to expedite the schedule suggests limited patience for additional procedural moves. Carroll could potentially receive the funds within weeks if the judge rules in her favor once briefing concludes.
