WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� on Monday rejected a push by President Donald Trump to a jury鈥檚 finding that he sexually abused the writer at a New York City department store in the mid-1990s and later defamed her.
The high court declined to take up the case in a brief, unexplained order, as is typical. There were no noted dissents.
Trump鈥檚 lawyers had argued that allegations leading to the $5 million verdict were propped up by 鈥渉ighly inflammatory鈥� evidentiary rulings, including those that allowed the testimony of two other women who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago. Trump has denied all three women鈥檚 allegations.
Trump’s attorneys argued the judge broke federal evidence rules in the case. They framed it as a distraction from Trump鈥檚 unique duties as president, though the verdict came before his return to the White House.
鈥淭his mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand,鈥� Attorney Justin D. Smith wrote in court documents. Trump, a Republican, has since to be an appeals court judge.
The decision comes as the court hands down opinions in the biggest cases of the term, many key to Trump’s agenda. Trump has publicly vented his frustration with Supreme Court losses in highly personal terms before, including unusual and highly personal criticism when the majority he imposed under an emergency powers law.
Carroll’s lawyers had urged the justices to pass on the case. They argued that the women’s testimony was relevant because the allegations were similar and that Judge Lewis Kaplan鈥檚 decisions were in line with others around the country. 鈥淭his question is not worthy of review,鈥� wrote attorney Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge. A message seeking comment on Monday’s decision was sent to Carroll鈥檚 attorneys.
Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and former TV talk show host, testified at a 2023 trial that Trump turned a friendly encounter in spring 1996 into a violent attack in the dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury retailer across the street from Trump Tower in Manhattan. The jury also found Trump liable for defaming Carroll when he denied her allegation in 2022.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
A jury also awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million after a second defamation trial. Trump is also appealing that ruling, though it鈥檚 not yet before the Supreme Court.
Trump has successfully fended off other , including a New York civil fraud penalty of over $500 million thrown out by a New York appeals court. The Supreme Court also granted him from criminal prosecution in 2024, though it later his bid to halt sentencing in his New York hush money case.
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Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report from New York.
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