Trump Loses Appeal in E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case

By Staff Reporter | National News Desk | June 13, 2025

New York City — Former President Donald Trump has suffered another legal setback in his ongoing efforts to overturn a $5 million judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse and defamation.

On Friday, a U.S. appeals court in Manhattan rejected Trump’s bid to revisit its earlier decision that upheld the civil jury’s 2023 verdict. The court was split in its ruling, with two dissenting votes coming from Trump-appointed judges Steven Menashi and Michael Park.

The case stems from allegations Carroll first made public in 2019, claiming that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room at the upscale Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s. Although the statute of limitations on criminal charges had expired, Carroll brought a civil case under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.

In May 2023, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and later defaming her in public statements, including calling her story a “hoax” and claiming she was “not my type.” The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages.

Carroll, now 81, has said the verdict affirms her long-standing pursuit of justice.

“This is a victory not just for me, but for every woman who has ever been silenced,” Carroll said in a brief statement following the appeals court's decision.

Trump continues to deny all allegations and has labeled the legal proceedings a “political witch hunt.” Over the past decade, more than two dozen women have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, though he has not been criminally charged in any of those cases.

Legal analysts say the appellate court’s decision significantly narrows Trump's options, though his legal team could still petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

As Trump continues to campaign for a return to the White House in 2024, the case remains a high-profile reminder of the former president’s ongoing legal challenges.

Former President Donald Trump has lost his latest legal attempt to overturn a $5 million judgment in the civil case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, with a federal appeals court in Manhattan rejecting his bid to revisit the jury’s verdict.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided decision issued Friday, upheld the ruling from December 2023 that found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and later defaming her when he publicly denied the allegations decades later.

Trump, who has consistently denied all allegations against him, argued that the trial judge erred in allowing the jury to view the infamous 2005 “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard bragging about groping women without consent. He also contended that testimony from two other women who accused him of misconduct should not have been admitted during trial. The appeals court rejected both arguments.

The Access Hollywood recording became a political flashpoint during the 2016 election, but did not derail Trump’s path to the presidency. He defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton that year and, after losing to Joe Biden in 2020, returned to the White House following his victory in the 2024 election. Trump, now 78 and turning 79 on Saturday, began his second term in January 2025.

Carroll, a former magazine columnist, said Trump assaulted her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan around 1996. A civil jury in May 2023 found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded her $5 million in damages. Trump later attacked Carroll again in public statements, which led to a second defamation lawsuit.

In January 2024, a jury awarded Carroll an additional $83 million in damages for reputational harm stemming from Trump’s continued denials in 2019, when he was president. Trump is currently appealing that judgment, claiming that the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity should shield him from civil liability for actions taken while in office.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, responded to the court’s decision on Friday, stating:

“E. Jean Carroll is very pleased with today’s decision. Although President Trump continues to try every possible maneuver to challenge the findings of two separate juries, those efforts have failed. He remains liable for sexual assault and defamation.”

Legal experts say Trump faces an uphill battle in the ongoing appeals, even as he campaigns under the weight of numerous legal entanglements. More than two dozen women have accused him of sexual misconduct over the past decade, though he has not faced criminal charges in any of those cases.

As the legal battles continue, Carroll’s civil victories mark a significant moment in the broader national reckoning around accountability, power, and sexual misconduct.