The Supreme Court will meet later this week to discuss President Donald Trump’s petition to review the verdict of his sexual abuse case concerning writer E. Jean Carroll.
Newsweek reached out to Trump and Carroll’s attorneys via email for comment.
Why It Matters
In May 2023, Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, with a jury awarding the advice columnist $5 million. In a second civil trial, in January 2024, a jury awarded Carroll an additional $83.3 million for defamatory statements Trump made after that first verdict.
Trump denies wrongdoing and, in November 2025, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the verdict after lower courts rejected his requests to challenge the ruling.
The Supreme Court’s response could set influential precedents on legal standards for public figures and on the admissibility of evidence in high-profile civil cases.
What To Know
Carroll, a longtime advice columnist, accused Trump of assaulting her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in 1996 and defaming her when he denied her allegations decades later. In 2023, a Manhattan jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after concluding that Trump was legally responsible for abuse and subsequent defamatory comments made in October 2022.
An appellate court upheld the verdict in December 2024, leading Trump’s legal team to seek Supreme Court intervention in November 2025.
Trump argued that the judge who oversaw the civil trial improperly allowed evidence to be presented that hurt the jury’s perception of Trump.
At their conference on March 6, the Supreme Court will decide whether to grant review of Trump’s petition.
What People Are Saying
In a June 2025 interview with Newsweek, Carroll said she maintains “complete, 100 percent faith” in the courts to preserve democracy. She also urged people to take to the streets in protest of Trump: “ Women have the power. We just have to realize it. We hold, as they say, the purse strings.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week in a House deposition: “Donald Trump has been held civilly liable for sexual assault by a jury of his peers. Nine members of a jury found him liable in the sexual assault of E Jean Carroll. That is behavior that fits a pattern if one were looking for a pattern.”
Civil Rights Attorney Areva Martin posted on X in November: “E. Jean Carroll did what millions of survivors are told is ‘impossible’—she took on one of the most powerful men in the world and won. That victory stands, no matter how many appeals he files.”
Trump’s legal team, led by St. Louis, Missouri-based attorney Justin D. Smith, said in November 2025: “President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this supposed incident ever occurred. No physical or DNA evidence corroborates Carroll’s story. There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation.”
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
