Less than two weeks after the money was released to her following years of legal battles, President Donald Trump is seeking to recover the $5.6 million recently paid to writer E. Jean Carroll.
Trump’s legal team has filed an emergency request asking the court to order Carroll to return the funds, which stem from a 2023 civil jury verdict that found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and defaming her after she publicly accused him. The payment, which included interest, had been held in a court-controlled escrow account while Trump pursued appeals. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, a federal judge ordered the money released to Carroll earlier this month.
Trump has consistently denied Carroll’s allegations and has described the case as politically motivated. In the latest court filing, his lawyers argue the money should be returned while they continue pursuing additional legal challenges. Carroll’s attorneys have strongly opposed the request, calling it baseless and accusing Trump of attempting to delay the consequences of a judgment that has already been upheld through the appeals process. Judge Lewis Kaplan, who ordered the release of the funds, previously wrote that Trump had “been stalling this case for years.”