A federal appeals court on Friday rejected former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a $5 million jury verdict in the sexual abuse and defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll.
The ruling, issued en banc by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, upholds a prior decision from December 2023, which enforced the jury’s findings. Carroll, 81, accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s and later defaming her in a 2022 Truth Social post. In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, though not for rape. Trump had argued the trial was unfair due to the inclusion of prejudicial evidence, including the 2005 Access Hollywood tape and testimony from two other women—allegations he denies. Two Trump-appointed judges dissented, criticizing the admission of what they called “propensity”
