Supreme Court Again Rejects Trump's Bid to Overturn E Jean Carroll Case

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined for a second time to take up President Donald Trump's request to overturn a federal civil jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll. The court had already rejected an earlier attempt by Trump to review the case back in June, and this latest request specifically asked the justices to reconsider that June denial — a move legal experts described as an unusual long-shot manoeuver, since the court rarely grants such repeat requests.

The decision was issued as part of an order list, with the justices offering no explanation for declining to rehear the case.

Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, welcomed the ruling, saying the jury's unanimous verdict finding Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll is now final and cannot be challenged in any court.

Background of the case

Carroll, a former magazine columnist now 82, accused Trump of attacking her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The defamation claim stemmed from a 2022 Truth Social post in which Trump denied the allegations and said Carroll was "not my type".

In July, Trump paid Carroll more than $5m (£3.6m) in damages, but afterward called the episode a hoax on social media. Following the June ruling, Trump vowed to keep fighting what he called a "weaponisation and lawfare case," arguing such a case should never be allowed to happen to a president or candidate again.

In his original petition, Trump's lawyers argued that jurors should not have been shown the 2005 Access Hollywood recording, in which he used crude language discussing groping and kissing women. Trump has not yet commented on the latest decision.

The Supreme Court has yet to rule on a separate request from Trump seeking to overturn another civil defamation verdict that awarded Carroll $83.3m.