A federal appeals court in New York has upheld a New York federal court jury verdict that found President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming columnist E. Jean Carroll, which now gives him 90 days to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the decision and an order that he pays her $5 million in damages.
A three-judge panel for the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a mandate Thursday, affirming the same court’s ruling in December that upheld the verdict, reports CNBC.
Carroll, now 81, has claimed that Trump had abused her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s, which he has continued to deny. Jurors ruled in their May 2023 decision that Trump was liable for sexual abuse and defaming her, but did not find that he raped her.
The jury awarded Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, $2.02 million for sexual assault and $2.98 million for defamation.
On Thursday, Carroll celebrated the appellate court’s decision on X, posting: “Thursday, July 10th, 2025 So long, Old Man! The United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, bids thee farewell.”
But a legal spokesperson for Trump, in a statement to CNBC, referred to the case as “liberal lawfare.”
“The American People are supporting President Trump in historic numbers, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoaxes, the defense of which the Attorney General has determined is legally required to be taken over by the Department of Justice because Carroll based her false claims on the President’s official acts, including statements from the White House,” the statement to CNBC said.
In June, Trump was unable to persuade the same court to reconsider the $5 million verdict Carroll won, with the court leaving intact its December decision upholding the jury award.
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