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Which documents or court records confirm settlements tied to allegations of sexual misconduct by Trump?
Executive summary
Court records and published reporting establish at least one high‑profile civil judgment tying Donald Trump to findings of sexual abuse and defamation: a jury in New York found Trump liable to E. Jean Carroll and awarded $5 million, a verdict later upheld by the Second Circuit and pressed to the U.S. Supreme Court [1] [2] [3]. Additional appellate rulings and press reports discuss related damages orders (including larger defamation awards) and filings in other civil complaints, but available sources do not list a comprehensive catalogue of every document or every settlement tied to sexual‑misconduct allegations [4] [5] [6].
1. The clearest court record: E. Jean Carroll’s trial verdict and judgments
The most concrete, public court record tying Trump to sexual‑misconduct findings is the federal civil trial in which a Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded $5 million in damages; that judgment and the trial record (complaints, trial rulings, verdict forms, and a published deposition video) are part of the public docket and widely reported [1] [7] [8]. The Second Circuit affirmed the $5 million finding in December 2024 and rejected challenges to the district judge’s evidentiary rulings; Trump later sought Supreme Court review of that appellate affirmation [2] [3] [9].
2. Related damage awards and appellate rulings cited by reporting
Reporting and legal summaries indicate additional large monetary awards tied to the same body of litigation over Carroll’s claims — most notably reporting about an $83.3 million appellate affirmation connected to defamation damages — which stem from related proceedings and post‑verdict calculations and were reported as being upheld by a U.S. appeals court [4]. News outlets also describe how multiple decisions at trial and on appeal (including whether other accusers’ testimony was admissible) shaped those damage outcomes [9] [10].
3. What the records show about evidentiary issues and scope
The court opinions and appellate memoranda cited in coverage explain that judges allowed testimony from other women alleging separate incidents and a 2005 recording to be admitted under federal rules that permit propensity evidence in sexual‑assault civil cases; the Second Circuit specifically found those rulings were not erroneous, which was central to upholding the verdict [2] [9]. Trump’s appeals have repeatedly focused on claims of evidentiary error, and his filings to higher courts (including the Supreme Court petition) are themselves public court documents described in the press [3] [10].
4. Other complaints, settlement claims, and contested or unproven allegations
Outside the Carroll litigation, reporting and court filings show multiple complaints and public allegations — for instance, court complaints refiled by plaintiffs claiming earlier alleged assaults or naming Trump in connection with Jeffrey Epstein-related suits — but these materials vary in public availability and in whether they resulted in settled, litigated, or dismissed outcomes; some are in docket PDFs or news summaries [5] [6]. Independent fact‑checking has flagged specific online claims (for instance about alleged $35 million child‑rape settlements) as unproven or lacking corroborating public records [11].
5. What the sources do not (or cannot) confirm
Available sources do not provide a single, verified master list of every settlement or every court record alleging sexual misconduct by Trump; some claims circulating online about multiple secret settlements or specific dollar totals are described by fact‑checkers as unproven or implausible absent public filing records [11]. Where plaintiffs have filed declarations and complaints in federal court those filings (and related docket entries) are the primary documentary evidence; where parties settled privately, confidentiality can limit public confirmation — but "available sources do not mention" a complete catalogue of such settlements beyond the cases cited [5] [11].
6. How to find the underlying documents if you want to verify
To verify the documents named in reporting: consult the federal court docket for Carroll v. Trump (S.D.N.Y.) and the published Second Circuit opinions (which are cited in legal repositories and in news stories), look for trial memoranda, the jury verdict form, and appellate opinions summarized by outlets like AP, PBS and legal sites [2] [7] [9]. For other suits or refiled complaints described in news coverage, seek the specific docket numbers noted in courthouse news pieces and the PDF complaints published by fact‑checking or legal portals [5] [6].
Limitations and competing views: news outlets and court opinions agree on the Carroll verdict and its affirmance [1] [2] [9], while Trump’s legal teams and some appeals characterize the rulings as legally flawed and have sought higher review, a dispute reflected in his Supreme Court petitions and public statements [3] [10]. Where online posts make broader claims about multiple large secret settlements, fact‑checkers and court records cited in reporting do not corroborate those specifics [11].