What was the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll vs Donald Trump defamation lawsuit and what were the financial implications for Donald Trump?
Executive summary
A federal jury found Donald J. Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, awarding her $5 million in the original 2023 verdict, and a separate jury later awarded Carroll roughly $83.3 million for repeated defamation—together creating judgments that exceed $88 million against Trump [1] [2]. Appeals have so far preserved the $5 million award and courts have affirmed the larger defamation damages, while Trump has pursued multiple appeals and sought Supreme Court review, and a bond was approved to stay collection while appeals proceed [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. The initial jury verdict: liability and a $5 million award
In May 2023 a federal jury in Manhattan found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the mid-1990s and for defaming her when he denied the allegation, and the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages for those claims [1] [7] [8]. The court rejected post-trial motions seeking to disturb that verdict and subsequent appeals up through at least mid‑2025 have affirmed the judgment, with courts finding the evidentiary rulings and jury findings within permissible bounds [9] [3] [10].
2. The separate damages trial and the $83.3 million defamation judgment
A subsequent trial focused solely on damages tied to repeated public attacks and denials by Trump produced a much larger verdict: jurors awarded Carroll about $83.3 million for defamation based on statements from 2019 and later, concluding that the degree of reprehensibility warranted significant punitive and compensatory awards [2] [11] [5]. That larger damages award has been defended on appeal, with an appeals panel calling the jury’s damages “fair and reasonable” and rejecting Trump’s arguments including claims of presidential immunity in that context [4] [11].
3. Combined financial exposure and temporary protections
Taken together, the two judgments amount to more than $88 million against Trump—$5 million from the original liability verdict plus roughly $83.3 million from the later defamation damages phase—although collection has been complicated by appellate litigation and procedural devices [2] [1]. A judge approved a roughly $92 million bond that insulated Trump from immediate collection efforts while he appeals, effectively delaying enforcement of the judgments while providing security for potential future payment [5].
4. How Trump has responded and the legal arguments on appeal
Trump has vigorously disputed the findings and pursued multiple appeals and petitions to higher courts, arguing errors in the trial record, challenging admissibility of related evidence, and asking the Supreme Court to intervene—contentions that include claims about the use of testimony from other accusers and contesting evidentiary rulings [12] [6] [13]. Advocates for Carroll and several courts have rejected those attacks so far, with appellate panels upholding the awards as supported by the evidence and the district court’s discretion [9] [4] [3].
5. Broader practical implications and limits of reporting
Legally, the verdicts establish civil liability and substantial monetary judgments that, if ultimately collectible, would impose major financial consequences on Trump; practically, appeal bonds and ongoing litigation mean immediate payment has been stayed and the ultimate cash impact depends on final appellate outcomes and collection efforts [5] [4] [3]. Reporting is clear about the jury awards and subsequent appeals, but available sources in this set do not provide definitive information about whether the full sums have been collected or the long‑term effect on Trump's finances beyond the bond and pending appeals [5] [4].