E Jean Carroll has just received $5.6 million in damages from Donald Trump. She has elected to hold the funds in a trust account pending further appeals.
She has officially received the first of two major payments from Donald Trump, totaling $5,625,005.48. This amount was released from the court registry following Judge Lewis Kaplan’s denial of Trump’s motion for a stay.
The funds, now considered as voluntary Escrow, is keeping the funds in her lawyer’s interest-bearing trust account. This move is intended to neutralize Trump’s legal argument that he would suffer “irreparable harm” if she spent the money before his “Hail Mary” appeals to the Supreme Court are resolved.
The Supreme Court has already shot down his initial appeal to not pay Carroll the funds, but in the meantime for not paying her upfront, he has accrued $625,005.48 in interest charges for delaying paying after the court decision 3 years ago. And, if one Supreme Court decision was not enough, Trump continues to contact the Supreme Court hoping that they will overturn their own previous decision.
If that’s not enough of a problem for Trump, there is a second judgement in the works exceeding $91 million (including interest) that is secured with a surety bond. It most likely will be finalized some time in 2027, depending the Supreme Court’s review of Trump’s immunity claims.
How can Trump claim immunity in either case? Donald Trump was not president when he was ordered to pay the combined ~$91 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll; the verdicts were reached while he was a private citizen and former president. So by present law, he cannot claim immunity.
The first judgment of $5 million was issued in May 2023 by a federal jury finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and the second judgment of $83.3 million followed in January 2024 for additional defamation. Trump served as president from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in January 2025, meaning both civil trials and liability findings occurred during the interval between his presidencies. He is currently president as of the July 2026 payment release, but the legal judgments themselves predate his current term.
On the legal standpoint, even with conservative leaning judges, the Supreme Court has already denied certiorari 13 times regarding various aspects of these cases, suggesting a very low probability of Trump succeeding on the merits of his current motions for reconsideration.
In a recent featured interview clip, E. Jean Carroll clarifies her motivations, stating that the litigation was never about personal enrichment.
She has established a foundation through the law firm Loeb & Loeb, chaired by Rachel Harrison.
Once the legal proceedings ae fully concluded and the funds are cleared, she intends to distribute the majority of the awarded damages through this foundation.
At 81 years old, Carroll notes that her happiness is derived from simple activities like walking her dog and enjoying meal, rather than to accumulation of wealth.