Donald Trump

Sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll

On 2019-06-21, Elizabeth Jean Carroll first publicly stated that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in the fall 1995 or the spring of 1996: 2019-06-21 - Hideous Men - E. Jean Carroll for The Cut. Carroll professionally refers to herself as E. Jean Carroll. She wrote that Trump “holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights … forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me.” She described physically resisting him before running away: “I try to stomp his foot. I try to push him off with my one free hand — for some reason, I keep holding my purse with the other — and I finally get a knee up high enough to push him out and off and I turn, open the door, and run out of the dressing room.”

That same day, Trump denied ever meeting Carroll and accused Carroll of lying.

As of June 2026, Carroll has filed two lawsuits, referred to as Carroll I and Carroll II.

Carroll I: defamation

On 2019-11-04, Carroll sued Trump for defamation in the New York Supreme Court.

On 2020-09-09, the case was moved (referred to as “removed”) to the District Court for the Southern District of New York: Carroll I, District Court (1:20-cv-07311), document 6, page 1. Document 14 and its attachments include the original filing.

On 2022-05-24, Carroll filed a second lawsuit: Carroll II.

On 2024-01-26, the jury found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff: document 280. They awarded exactly $18.3 million in damages for Trump’s statements. On the questions of whether Trump, in his 2019-06-21 and 2019-06-22 statements, “acted maliciously, out of hatred, ill will, or spite, vindictively, or in wanton, reckless, or willful disregard of Ms. Carroll’s rights,” they said yes, awarding Carroll exactly $65 million in punitive damages. The total award is exactly $83.3 million.

On 2024-03-08, Trump appealed to the Court of Appeals (USCA) for the Second Circuit: Carroll I, USCA (24-644).

On 2024-04-25, the judge for the District Court case, Lewis A. Kaplan, denied Trump’s request for a new trial or judgement as matter of law: District Court document 338. Judge Kaplan is not related to Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s lawyer for both cases.

As of 2026-07-09, the USCA appeal is ongoing.

Carroll II: battery

On 2022-05-24, the New York State government signed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA) into law, allowing alleged victims of sexual offenses for which the statute of limitations had lapsed to file civil suits for a one-year period starting 2022-11-24.

On 2022-11-24, Carroll sued Trump for battery: Carroll II, District Court (1:22-cv-10016).