Donald Trump took one more shot at getting the Supreme Court to reopen his challenge to the civil verdict won by E. Jean Carroll, and the justices turned him away again Monday. According to the U.S. Supreme Court’s August 17 order, Trump’s petition for rehearing was denied. The court gave no explanation for the decision, and its docket confirms that Trump had asked the justices to reconsider after they initially refused to hear his appeal on June 29.
The latest rejection effectively closes Trump’s path to overturning the 2023 verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case. According to the Second Circuit’s decision, a New York federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll during an encounter at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan in the 1990s and for defaming her with statements he made in 2022. The jury awarded Carroll $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The case was civil, meaning the verdict established liability rather than a criminal conviction.
Carroll testified during the 2023 trial that what began as an encounter with Trump inside the luxury department store turned into an attack in a dressing room. According to the Associated Press, Trump has denied wrongdoing. The jury did not find Trump liable for rape under the specific legal question presented on its verdict form, but it did find that Carroll proved sexual abuse. The Second Circuit later affirmed that verdict and the $5 million award. Trump had also publicly dismissed Carroll’s allegations, telling The Hill in 2019 that she was “not my type.”
Carroll first publicly accused Trump in 2019. Trump responded to her allegations by denying the encounter and at one point writing that Carroll was “totally lying.” Carroll initially sued over his public statements. She later filed another lawsuit in 2022 that included a battery claim after New York opened a temporary pathway for adults whose sexual abuse claims had previously been blocked by statutes of limitations. The New York governor’s office said the Adult Survivors Act created a one-year window for survivors to bring time-barred civil claims.
Trump continued fighting the E. Jean Carroll verdict after the jury ruled against him. According to the Second Circuit, he sought a new trial while challenging evidence admitted during the proceedings, including testimony from two women who separately accused him of sexual misconduct and a 2005 recording in which Trump discussed grabbing and kissing women without first obtaining consent. The appeals court rejected his arguments and affirmed the judgment in December 2024. Supreme Court records show Trump later petitioned the justices for review, was denied on June 29, 2026, filed his rehearing petition in July, and received the second rejection on August 17.
By the time Trump made that final request, Carroll had already received the money. Carroll collected approximately $5.63 million on July 14, representing the original $5 million judgment plus interest. The money had been held while Trump pursued his appeals. The Associated Press also reported that the payment came from an account where the funds had been placed following the 2023 verdict.
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan welcomed Monday’s decision. In a statement reported by Reuters, Kaplan said she was “pleased that the United States Supreme Court has declined again to hear this case.” She added, “As a result, the jury’s unanimous verdict that Donald Trump sexually assaulted and then defamed E. Jean Carroll is now final and cannot be challenged in any court.”
The August 17 decision does not end every legal fight between Trump and E. Jean Carroll. A separate case involving Trump’s statements about Carroll in 2019 produced a much larger judgment. According to Reuters, another federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in 2024 for defamation. Trump has asked the Supreme Court to overturn that judgment, arguing that immunity should protect him from liability for statements made during his first White House term. The Justice Department has separately asked the court to allow the federal government to be substituted as the defendant. As of August 17, the Supreme Court had not resolved that separate appeal.
That distinction matters as the years-long legal battle continues. The Supreme Court’s latest action leaves the 2023 E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse and defamation verdict intact, along with the money she has already collected, while the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment remains before the justices. For the $5 million case, however, Trump’s attempt to get another Supreme Court review has reached the end of the road.
