The Supreme Court won’t stop President Donald Trump from having to pay $5 million to writer and former Miss Indiana University E. Jean Carroll.
His appeal in the case for sexual abuse and defamation was the first time since his return to office that he asked the court to weigh in on a personal legal issue. In the appeal, Trump argued that a president shouldn’t be burdened with defending himself against decades-old charges.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, the court’s ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts weakened and delayed the federal criminal case against Trump for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped the charges after Trump won the 2024 election because the Justice Department bars prosecutions of sitting presidents.
The court on June 29 declined to review the 2023 jury verdict against Trump in a civil suit brought by Carroll.
Who is E. Jean Carroll?
Elizabeth Jean Carroll is a lauded writer, journalist, author and advice columnist who was featured in Elle Magazine for nearly 30 years until 2020. She wrote for Saturday Night Live in the 1980s and hosted “Ask E. Jean,” a TV show that aired from 1994-96 and served as a precursor to MSNBC’s “America’s Talking.”
Carroll’s roots are planted firmly in the Midwest. She grew up in Fort Wayne as the oldest of four children. An IU graduate in the class of 1967, Carroll was named Miss Indiana University in 1963, as well as Miss Cheerleader U.S.A., which earned her a scholarship.
Why did E. Jean Carroll sue former president Donald Trump?
Carroll claimed Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York City department store dressing room more than 30 years ago, charges the former president has publicly denied.
The moment the dressing-room door closed, Carroll said, Trump lunged at her, shoving her against a wall where he next pulled down her tights. Carroll gave a graphic account of the assault both in her book and in a later article.
What did Donald Trump say about E. Jean Carroll?
Trump has strongly denied Carroll’s accusations, saying in 2019: “I’ve never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book — that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section.”
A photo of Trump and Carroll together was taken around 1987 — years before the alleged assault — along with Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump, and Carroll’s then-husband.
Trump called Carroll’s allegations “a disgrace” and said “people should pay dearly for such false accusations.”
Trump’s tone hasn’t shifted much. In 2024, a New York judge threatened to toss Trump out of the courtroom after the belligerent ex-President could be heard making disparaging comments about Carroll within earshot of the jury.
What did E. Jean Carroll allege in her lawsuits?
Carroll said in 2019 that Trump sexually assaulted her at a New York City department store in 1996, and Trump fired back with allegations that she was making up the story to sell her book.
Carroll sued him months later, eventually winning the $83.3 million judgment.
As the case was ongoing, Trump repeated the denial in a 2022 social media post. Carroll then sued Trump again under a special window of time that New York granted to sexual abuse survivors, and in 2023, a New York jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse against Carroll. This resulted in the $5 million verdict.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Supreme Court won’t hear Trump appeal in E. Jean Carroll’s case
Reporting by John Tufts and Maureen Groppe, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Tufts and Maureen Groppe, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
