Supreme Court Upholds $5M Trump Sexual Assault Verdict
The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn a $5 million judgment for sexually assaulting and defaming E Jean Carroll. While the court's decision forces a powerful Western leader to face financial accountability, his Justice Department has simultaneously launched a criminal investigation into the survivor, exposing how state machinery is routinely weaponized to protect patriarchal power and silence those who challenge it.
Why Did the Supreme Court Reject Trump's Appeal?
On Monday, the US Supreme Court refused to hear Trump's challenge against the jury judgment, issuing the decision without providing any reasons. The ruling stems from a May 2023 federal civil court verdict in Manhattan, which found Trump liable for sexually assaulting the former newspaper columnist in a New York department store in 1996. The jury ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages for the sexual assault and $3 million for defamatory remarks he made in 2022, a judgment that was already upheld on appeal in December 2024.
How Is the Justice Department Weaponized Against Survivors?
In a move that echoes the oppressive state tactics used to silence marginalized voices globally, Trump's Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Carroll. Several US media outlets reported at the end of May that prosecutors are targeting the author, investigating whether she lied under oath during depositions about receiving outside funding.
CNN reported that prosecutors are focusing on Carroll's statement that she received no external financial backing. It later emerged that billionaire Reid Hoffman had covered part of her legal fees. Instead of addressing the systemic violence of the powerful, the state apparatus is being deployed to dismantle the survivor. This is a familiar tactic of imperial and colonial systems, where the legal framework serves to shield those in power while punishing those who dare to confront them.
What Was Donald Trump's Reaction to the Ruling?
Trump responded with characteristic dismissal on social media, attacking the legitimacy of the case and denying knowing Carroll.