The money sat locked away while Trump's lawyers fought to prevent its release.
After more than half a decade of legal struggle, writer E. Jean Carroll, now 82, received $5.62 million in damages from President Trump — the culmination of a 2023 jury verdict finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation rooted in an alleged assault three decades prior. The Supreme Court's refusal to hear Trump's appeal in late June cleared the final obstacle, and the funds, long held in a court-controlled account, were at last transferred. Carroll's quiet announcement — 'The Eagle Has Landed' — carried the weight of years: a reminder that accountability, when it arrives, often does so slowly, and that the pursuit of it can define a life.
- A federal jury unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in 2023, awarding Carroll $5 million — but the money sat frozen for years while Trump's legal team fought every avenue of appeal.
- The Supreme Court's June 29 refusal to hear Trump's case removed the last legal barrier, yet his attorneys still attempted to delay the actual disbursement of funds, prompting Carroll's lead counsel to call it deliberate gamesmanship.
- Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan pressed the trial judge to override the delay, and the obstruction finally collapsed — the $5.62 million, including accrued interest, moved into Carroll's account on Tuesday.
- Carroll, now 82, marked the moment with characteristic precision on Substack, thanking her legal team by name and sending a pointed acknowledgment even to Trump's former attorney Alina Habba.
- The resolution is partial: a separate January 2024 defamation verdict against Trump remains contested, and he has signaled plans to appeal that judgment to the Supreme Court as well.
E. Jean Carroll announced the arrival of $5.62 million in her bank account with four words on Substack: 'The Eagle Has Landed.' The payment — the 2023 jury verdict plus interest — marked the end of a legal journey that had consumed more than five years of her life and traced back to an accusation she first made public in 2019: that Donald Trump had sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room some thirty years earlier.
The trial itself had been decisive. Nine jurors unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million. They rejected her rape claim on narrow statutory grounds — a limitation the trial judge later criticized, writing that Carroll's account was 'substantially true.' Trump did not attend the trial, and his attorneys called no witnesses. The verdict was clear. What followed was years of legal maneuvering to prevent Carroll from ever collecting it.
Trump's team appealed repeatedly, ultimately asking the Supreme Court to intervene. On June 29, the Court declined. Even then, his lawyers sought to delay the actual transfer of funds — a move Carroll's lead attorney Roberta Kaplan called 'gamesmanship.' The trial judge ultimately cleared the way, and the money moved.
In her announcement, Carroll thanked more than a dozen members of her legal team by name. She also included a pointed note of gratitude toward Alina Habba, Trump's former lead defense attorney — a gesture that carried its own quiet message about the nature of her vindication.
The case had been built in part on pattern: two other women testified about similar alleged encounters with Trump, and jurors saw the 2016 'Access Hollywood' recording. The cumulative picture, the jury found, supported Carroll's account. But the legal war is not over. A second jury found Trump liable for additional defamatory statements in January 2024, and Trump has signaled he will appeal that verdict to the Supreme Court as well. One chapter closed on Tuesday. Others remain unresolved.
E. Jean Carroll finally received her money on Tuesday. Three years after a jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her, the writer's bank account held $5.62 million—the verdict plus interest, at last transferred from the court-controlled account where it had sat since the 2023 trial ended.
Carroll announced the payment to her Substack readers with a single line: "The Eagle Has Landed." She was 82 years old. The legal battle that brought her to this moment had consumed more than half a decade of her life, beginning in 2019 when she first went public with an accusation that stretched back thirty years—that Trump had sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room during a chance encounter while shopping.
The jury's verdict had been unambiguous. Nine jurors, six men and three women, unanimously concluded that Trump had forcibly inserted his fingers into Carroll after what began as a pleasant walk through the store turned violent in a changing room. They found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. They rejected her rape claim, constrained by New York's statutory definition requiring proof of penetration by the attacker's genitals—a limitation the trial judge later criticized as out of step with federal law and modern understanding. In his post-trial ruling, the judge wrote that Carroll's assertion that Trump raped her was "substantially true."
Trump did not attend the trial. His attorneys called no witnesses. The jury deliberated and returned its verdict: $5 million in damages. For years afterward, the money remained locked away while Trump's legal team fought to prevent its release. They appealed. They asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. On June 29, the Court declined, clearing the path for payment. Carroll celebrated that day in all capitals: "WE WON! THIS WIN IS FOR EVERY WOMAN IN THE WORLD!"
Even then, the fight continued. Trump's lawyers sought to delay disbursement indefinitely. Carroll's lead attorney, Roberta Kaplan, called the maneuver "gamesmanship" and pushed the trial judge to release the funds. The obstruction finally gave way. The money moved.
In her Substack email, Carroll thanked more than a dozen members of her legal team by name. She included a pointed line of gratitude directed at Alina Habba, one of Trump's former attorneys who had led his defense throughout her cases. The message was unmistakable: even those on the other side had contributed to her vindication.
Carroll's case had rested partly on pattern evidence. Two other women testified that Trump had suddenly transformed casual encounters into acts of alleged sexual misconduct. Jurors were shown the "Access Hollywood" video from the 2016 campaign, in which Trump described grabbing women's genitals. The cumulative weight of these accounts, the jury found, supported Carroll's claim.
But this verdict was not the end of her legal war. A separate federal jury had found Trump liable in January 2024 for making further defamatory statements about Carroll after the first trial. That jury awarded her additional damages. Trump has signaled his intention to appeal that verdict to the Supreme Court as well. For Carroll, one chapter had closed. Others remained open.
Notable Quotes
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.— Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's lead attorney
The Eagle Has Landed.— E. Jean Carroll, in her Substack announcement
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made the jury believe her after thirty years?
The pattern. Two other women described similar sudden escalations from normal interaction to assault. The jury saw the Access Hollywood tape. They heard a consistent account of how Trump operated. Time didn't erase the credibility—it reinforced it.
Why did it take three years to actually receive the money?
Because Trump's lawyers fought every step. The verdict came in 2023, but they appealed, asked the Supreme Court to intervene, tried to delay disbursement even after the Court said no. The money sat in a court account the whole time.
The judge said her rape claim was "substantially true" but the jury rejected it. How does that work?
New York's law is narrow—it requires proof of genital penetration by the attacker. The jury found sexual abuse instead, which the law does cover. The judge later said the statute itself is outdated, that it doesn't match how rape is understood now. But the jury had to follow the law as written.
She's 82. Does the money feel like vindication or just exhaustion?
Probably both. She called it a win for every woman in the world. But she's still waiting for another verdict to be resolved. This isn't closure yet—it's one battle won in a longer war.
What happens next?
Trump appeals the second defamation verdict to the Supreme Court. Carroll waits to see if they'll hear it. The cycle continues.