The Supreme Court on Monday handed President Donald Trump a significant legal defeat by refusing to hear his appeal of a jury verdict that found him guilty of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, according to NBC News. The decision means that the $5 million civil judgment from a 2023 trial remains in effect. The justices did not provide an explanation for their decision, but their refusal to take up the case signals the end of Trump’s legal efforts in this matter.

Background of the Case

Carroll, a longtime writer and former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, filed a lawsuit against Trump in 2019 for defamation and again in 2022 for both defamation and battery. The 2022 case, which went to trial first, led to a $5 million judgment against Trump after a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Carroll’s claims were backed by the 2019 state law that allowed victims of sexual abuse to file civil claims for past incidents, according to CNN.

In the 2019 case, the jury awarded Carroll $83 million in damages. Combined with interest, Trump now owes over $100 million to Carroll. Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer, said the Supreme Court’s decision affirms the jury’s unanimous verdict and ends Trump’s attempts to avoid accountability for his actions.

Trump’s Response and Legal Arguments

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the case and has criticized the legal proceedings. He took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the ruling, calling it an attack on the United States and warning that it should not be allowed to happen to future presidents or candidates. “This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for,” he wrote, according to NBC News.

Trump argued that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan made errors during the trial, including allowing testimony from other women who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct and showing the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape. The tape, recorded in 2005, features Trump bragging about his treatment of women. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet,” he was heard saying.

Public and Legal Reactions

Carroll’s legal team has maintained that the jury’s verdict was clear and that Trump’s appeals were baseless. “His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed,” said Roberta Kaplan, according to CNN. “Today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.”

Trump’s insistence that he never met Carroll was a key part of his defense and was also central to the defamation case. A photograph from the 1990s showed the two standing together, which Trump dismissed as a “decades-old celebrity photo line.” Despite this, the jury found in favor of Carroll, rejecting Trump’s claims as part of a “con job” and “hoax,” as he described them after his first term in office.