A Manhattan federal court has released more than $5.6 million owed by former President Donald Trump to writer E. Jean Carroll, following a successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him.

The funds were disbursed from a court-held escrow account on July 9, 2026, one day after Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered their release. Carroll's legal team had requested the release following the Supreme Court's denial on June 29, 2026, of Trump's request to hear his appeal.

Carroll sued Trump in 2023 over allegations that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s and defamed her in a 2022 social media post. A unanimous nine-person jury found Trump liable for both sexual assault and defamation.

Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, stated, “Three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.”

Trump has denied wrongdoing and described the case as a "Weaponization and Lawfare Case," vowing to continue fighting the defamation claim with all his strength. Prior to the release, Trump's attorneys had attempted to block the transfer of funds.

The money was held in the federal government's Court Registry Investment System during the appeal process, preventing Trump from withholding the funds through financial or legal tactics.

The case originated from Carroll's 2022 suit filed in New York, alleging the assault occurred after a chance encounter in 1996, and that Trump defamed her after she publicly came forward with her claims in 2019.

Sources