ToplineThe Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up a court ruling against President Donald Trump that found he had defamed and sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll, a major loss for the president that means the $5 million judgment against him will stand—though he’s still expected to appeal the writer’s other lawsuit against him to the high court.E. Jean Carroll attends Equality Now's Make Equality Reality Gala on October 8, 2024 in New York City.Getty ImagesKey FactsThe Supreme Court issued an order Monday saying it would not take up Trump’s appeal of the ruling in Carroll’s favor, but did not explain its decision at all or give any indication of whether any justices would have taken it up.A jury ruled in Carroll’s favor in 2023, finding Trump abused Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s and then defamed her when she went public with the allegations, though it declined to find him liable for rape.That verdict was then upheld by an appeals court, which Trump asked the Supreme Court to reconsider, claiming Carroll’s claims against Trump were “implausible” and “politically motivated.”The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case means Trump will have to pay Carroll the $5 million the jury awarded her in the case, as well as interest that has accrued on the judgment.The case is separate from Carroll’s other defamation case against Trump, in which she was awarded $83.3 million for Trump defaming her, though the president has suggested he could also ask the high court to take up that case after an appeals court upheld the ruling.Trump’s legal team decried the Carroll case as a “witch hunt” Monday and said in a statement the president “will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare.”What to Watch forTrump’s lawyers have said they intend to appeal the $83.3 million Carroll judgement to the Supreme Court, but haven’t yet filed anything, and it’s unclear when they will or if the court could take that case up. TangentThe Supreme Court’s ruling comes amid reports the Trump administration has launched an investigation into Carroll’s case—though not on her specifically. The Justice Department is reportedly investigating billionaire Reid Hoffman and his nonprofit American Future Republic, which helped fund Carroll’s litigation. That’s come under scrutiny because Carroll didn’t initially disclose it during a 2022 deposition. She later did disclose it to the court, with her lawyers claiming Carroll only later recalled “her counsel at some point secured additional funding from a nonprofit organization to cover certain expenses and fees.” Trump’s lawyers pointed to the funding to justify having the case thrown out, but their efforts failed. While initial reports suggested Carroll herself was under investigation for potential perjury in her deposition, the DOJ said it “never opened” an investigation into Carroll, and anonymous sources cited by The New York Times clarified Hoffman and his nonprofit are the actual subject of the inquiry, rather than Carroll. Hoffman responded to the investigation on X last month, calling the Trump administration’s accusations of wrongdoing against him “absurdly false” and claiming, “The premise of the investigation would be laughable if the subject matter weren’t so serious.”Key BackgroundCarroll publicly accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her decades earlier, alleging in her book, an excerpt of which was published in New York Magazine, that the president raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Trump has vehemently denied the allegations and repeatedly attacked Carroll in response, claiming the writer was “not my type.” Carroll sued Trump shortly thereafter, accusing him of defamation. She then filed a second lawsuit alleging both defamation and sexual abuse under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which is the lawsuit at the heart of Monday’s Supreme Court decision. That lawsuit ended up going to trial first, with the jury finding Trump liable for both defamation and abuse. The other lawsuit then went to trial in January 2024, with the jury only having to determine how much Trump owed Carroll, based on a court already finding him liable for defaming her. That resulted in the $83.3 million penalty. Trump has continued to attack Carroll even after the jury verdicts, despite the eight-figure penalties against him, and Carroll’s attorneys have not ruled out bringing further litigation.Further ReadingTrump Wants Supreme Court To Decide Whether He Sexually Abused E. Jean Carroll (Forbes)Billionaire Reid Hoffman Blasts Trump’s E. Jean Carroll Probe As He Becomes A Target (Forbes)