US Supreme Court refuses Trump's appeal in E Jean Carroll abuse case

Washington,UPDATED: Jun 29, 2026 19:18 IST

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to overturn a jury's finding that he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her.

In a brief and unexplained order, the court declined to hear the case, leaving in place the USD 5 million verdict against Trump. His lawyers had argued that the case was shaped by what they called "highly inflammatory" evidentiary rulings, including the decision to allow testimony from two other women who also accused him of sexual abuse decades ago. Trump has denied all three women's allegations.

Trump's legal team said the trial judge had broken federal evidence rules. They also argued that the case was a distraction from Trump's unique duties as president, although the verdict was delivered before his return to the White House. "This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand," attorney Justin D. Smith wrote in court documents. Trump has since nominated Smith to be an appeals court judge.

The decision came as the Supreme Court was delivering opinions in the biggest cases of its term, including several linked to Trump's agenda. Trump has publicly expressed frustration with Supreme Court defeats in personal terms before, including criticism after the court's majority struck down global tariffs he had imposed under an emergency powers law.

Carroll's lawyers had asked the justices not to take up the case. They said the testimony of the two other women was relevant because their allegations were similar, and that Judge Lewis Kaplan's rulings were consistent with those in other courts across the country. "This question is not worthy of review," attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, wrote.

At the 2023 trial, Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and former television talk show host, said Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury store across from Trump Tower. The jury also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll when he denied her allegation in 2022. Carroll has spoken publicly about the allegation.

A separate jury later awarded Carroll an additional USD 83.3 million in a second defamation trial. Trump is appealing that ruling as well, although that case is not yet before the Supreme Court. Trump has also avoided other major court setbacks, including having a New York civil fraud penalty of more than USD 500 million thrown out by a New York appeals court. The Supreme Court had also granted him broad immunity from criminal prosecution in 2024, though it later narrowly rejected his bid to stop sentencing in his New York hush-money case.

With Monday's order, the Supreme Court has left untouched the jury's findings in Carroll's favour, while Trump continues to fight a separate defamation award and other legal battles.

With PTI Inputs

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