On January 26, 2024, a federal jury in Manhattan awarded E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in damages in a defamation case against Donald Trump. The breakdown: $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages. The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
This was the second time a jury held Trump liable in connection with Carroll’s allegations. In May 2023, a different jury had found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s and awarded her $5 million. This second trial was specifically about whether Trump defamed her when he denied the assault and attacked her character.
The Defamation
Carroll first publicly accused Trump of sexual assault in June 2019 in a New York Magazine excerpt from her book. Trump responded by saying he’d never met her (photos showed they had), that she wasn’t his “type,” and that she made it up to sell books. He continued attacking her throughout the trial itself, posting on Truth Social while the jury was being selected, calling the case a “con job” and a “hoax.”
“The jury’s verdict confirms what we already knew: Donald Trump is liable for defaming E. Jean Carroll. The $83.3 million in damages sends a clear message that there are consequences for defaming people.” — Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan
The Verdict Upheld
Trump appealed. On September 9, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the verdict in its entirety, calling the jury’s damages award “fair and reasonable” given Trump’s “prolonged attacks on Carroll’s credibility and character.” The appeals court noted that Trump continued to defame Carroll even during the trial, in front of the jury, and that the punitive damages reflected the “extraordinary circumstances” of a defendant who simply refused to stop.
Bottom Line
Two juries. Two verdicts. One found him liable for sexual abuse. The other found him liable for defaming the woman he abused. $88.3 million total. Upheld on appeal. And his response to both verdicts was to keep doing exactly what the juries found him liable for: attacking Carroll’s character on social media. The money may eventually be collected. The behavior never changed. That’s not a man who was chastened by the legal system. That’s a man who treats court judgments the same way he treats everything else — as obstacles to be ignored until someone physically stops him.
Sources
- JURIST: Second Circuit upholds $83.3M verdict, September 2025.
- Associated Press: Carroll defamation verdict coverage, January 26, 2024.
- New York Times: Verdict analysis, damages breakdown, juror timeline.
- Politico: $83.3M damages and Trump’s in-trial social media attacks.