Donald Trump Latest News Today: A legal battle that has stretched across several years reached another major milestone this week after writer E. Jean Carroll received more than $5.6 million from US President Donald Trump. The payment follows a 2023 civil jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. After the US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal, a federal judge ordered the money, which had remained in an escrow account during the appeals process, to be released to Carroll. Although the payment has now been made, Trump has continued his legal fight by pursuing additional appeals.
Donald Trump Latest News Today: E. Jean Carroll Receives More Than $5.6 Million
Court records show that E. Jean Carroll has received more than $5.62 million, which includes the original $5 million jury award along with interest that accumulated while the case remained under appeal.
The money had been placed in a court-controlled escrow account by Trump shortly after the jury delivered its verdict in 2023.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, confirmed the payment.
“Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.”
Carroll later acknowledged receiving the funds by posting on Substack, “the eagle has landed.”
Who is E. Jean Carroll?
E. Jean Carroll is an American journalist, author and former advice columnist best known for writing the long-running “Ask E. Jean” advice column for Elle magazine from 1993 to 2019. She gained international attention after accusing Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
In 2023, a New York civil jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and in 2024, another jury awarded her additional damages in a separate defamation case.
Donald Trump Latest News Today: Why Was the Money Released Now?
The payment became possible after the US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal, leaving the lower court’s decision in place.
Following that decision, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered the release of the escrow funds.
Trump’s legal team sought an emergency order to block the payment, but the request was denied. Court documents indicate there are no restrictions on how Carroll may use the money.
According to filings submitted by her legal team, Carroll intends to place the money into a retirement account.
Donald Trump Latest News Today: What Was the 2023 Civil Case About?
The lawsuit centred on Carroll’s allegation that Trump sexually assaulted her inside a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan during the mid-1990s.
A New York jury in 2023 concluded that Trump was liable for sexual abuse and defamation after he publicly denied Carroll’s allegations. Trump has consistently denied the accusations.
During previous public statements, Trump said, “totally lying” and “not my type”
He has also repeatedly maintained that he did not know Carroll and has argued that the lawsuit was politically motivated.
Donald Trump Latest News Today: Trump Continues to Challenge the Verdict
Although the damages have now been paid, Trump’s legal team has made it clear that the case is not over. His lawyers continue to pursue further appeals in an effort to overturn or suspend the judgment.
They have previously described the case as a “hoax” and “Witch Hunt”
While arguing that the trial contained legal errors.
Donald Trump Latest News Today: Another Defamation Case is Still Pending
Trump is also appealing a separate 2024 jury verdict that ordered him to pay nearly $84 million to Carroll in another defamation lawsuit.
That judgment arose from statements Trump made after Carroll first accused him publicly of sexual assault.
Federal appeals judges have already upheld that verdict, but Trump’s appeal remains ongoing.
Donald Trump Latest News: How the Case Reached Court
Carroll filed her lawsuit after New York enacted legislation allowing survivors of sexual abuse to bring civil claims over incidents that occurred many years earlier. The law temporarily reopened the legal window for survivors whose claims would otherwise have expired under previous statutes of limitation.
That legal change allowed Carroll to pursue the civil lawsuit decades after the alleged incident.
E. Jean Carroll Age
E. Jean Carroll was born on December 12, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, and is 82 years old as of 2026. Before becoming a nationally known columnist, she studied at Indiana University and built a successful career in journalism and magazine publishing.
E. Jean Carroll Children
There is no public record indicating that E. Jean Carroll has children. Throughout her public career and legal proceedings, she has not spoken about having sons or daughters, and reliable biographical sources do not list any children.
E. Jean Carroll Husband
E. Jean Carroll has been married twice. Her first marriage was to Stephen Wesley Byers, lasting from 1969 to 1986, followed by a second marriage to former WABC-TV anchor and artist John Edward Johnson Jr. from 1987 to 1990. Both marriages ended in divorce, and she has not remarried since 1990.
E. Jean Carroll Net Worth
E. Jean Carroll’s exact net worth is not publicly confirmed. Estimates published by various celebrity websites differ widely and are not independently verified. Her income has primarily come from her journalism career, bestselling books, speaking engagements and media appearances. Following the civil verdicts against Donald Trump, juries awarded her a total of $88.3 million in damages, although the larger 2024 award remains under appeal.
E. Jean Carroll Book
Carroll has written several books during her journalism career. Her most widely known works include:
- What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal (2019) — the memoir in which she publicly accused Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her in the mid-1990s.
- Not My Type: One Woman Against a President (2025) — a book that chronicles her legal battle with Trump and became a New York Times bestseller.
E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump
The legal dispute between E. Jean Carroll and Donald Trump began after Carroll publicly accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump denied the allegation and repeatedly said he did not know Carroll, leading her to file defamation lawsuits. The cases have become among the highest-profile civil legal battles involving a US president.
E. Jean Carroll Verdict
In May 2023, a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. In January 2024, a separate jury awarded her $83.3 million after finding Trump had continued to defame her through later public statements. Trump has denied the allegations and continues to appeal both judgments.
Has E. Jean Carroll Been Paid?
Yes. In July 2026, E. Jean Carroll received more than $5.62 million, representing the original $5 million jury award plus accrued interest, after the US Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal and a federal judge ordered the escrowed funds released. Trump continues to appeal the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment.
