Donald Trump, Adjudicated Sexual Abuser, Finally Faces a Consequence

After years of legal stalling, procedural gymnastics, and an unprecedented number of Supreme Court reschedulings, the highest court in the land has finally told Donald Trump what the rest of the world already knew: he is a sexual abuser, and he must pay for it. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up Trump’s appeal of a $5 million verdict against him, upholding the jury’s finding that he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll.

But don’t expect a check to arrive anytime soon. This man has spent his entire life dodging accountability, and he is not about to start now.

Here is what CNN reported:

The Supreme Court Monday declined to take up an appeal from President Donald Trump over a $5 million verdict and finding that he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll, a decision that means the president will now have to pay the magazine columnist.

In an unusual quirk, the second case — the one filed in 2022 — went to trial first and the jury awarded Carroll $5 million. That is the case the Supreme Court agreed to hear. The 2019 case went to trial second and resulted in an $83 million judgment against Trump. Including interest, Trump owes Carroll over $100 million in all.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll,” Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said. “His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.”

He Will Fight Paying. That Is The Point.

Let’s be real: Trump is unlikely to pay E. Jean Carroll without exhausting every delay tactic available to him. He has spent his public life dodging accountability, burying opponents in litigation and turning consequences into another stage for grievance politics.

The Supreme Court’s decision means the $5 million verdict stands. A jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. A separate jury later awarded her $83.3 million for defamation. With interest and related costs, Trump’s total exposure has been reported at over $100 million. But winning in court and collecting money from Donald Trump are two different things.

What infuriates me most is that he tried to take this to the Supreme Court in the first place. A sitting president asked the highest court in the country to rescue him from damages tied to sexual abuse and defamation. His lawyers argued that the case distracted him from his duties as chief executive. The sheer audacity is astonishing. A man found liable by a jury now wants the country to treat accountability as an inconvenience.

Final Thoughts

The system is broken when rich and powerful people can stall forever. E. Jean Carroll has won verdicts and survived appeals, yet the fight over payment continues. This is a system that still gives the powerful more room to run than ordinary people would ever receive.

Meanwhile, the public record is clear. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. A federal judge later said Carroll’s use of the word “rape” was substantially true in the common understanding of the term. Trump can rage, deny and delay, but he cannot erase the record.

If Trump dies before paying everything he owes, Carroll should be able to pursue every lawful route available against his estate. She deserves the money. More importantly, she deserves accountability. And if Trump keeps trying to avoid it, history should remember that too.