President Trump has lost another round in his long-running legal battle with writer E. Jean Carroll. The Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up his bid to overturn a $5 million civil verdict that found he sexually abused and defamed her, and the president made no secret of his surprise at the outcome.

Another Defeat After Years of Appeals

The high court’s refusal to intervene marks the latest in a string of setbacks for Trump, who has spent years trying to get the verdict thrown out. Throughout the saga, he has denied any wrongdoing and insisted that Carroll fabricated the accusations for political reasons.

This time, the Supreme Court simply declined to review the case, leaving the jury’s findings firmly in place. For Trump, it closes off one of his remaining avenues to escape the judgment.

Trump’s Reaction

Trump aired his frustration on Truth Social Monday morning, expressing genuine surprise that the justices passed on the case. He dismissed the lawsuit as fabricated and again denied knowing Carroll, brushing off a decades-old photo of the two of them, taken alongside her husband at a celebrity event, as meaningless.

He went further, framing the matter as something larger than himself. The case, he argued, was really aimed at the United States and everything it represents, and he warned that no future president or candidate should ever have to endure something similar.

Carroll’s Side Claims Vindication

Carroll’s legal team saw the ruling very differently. Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, told Axios that the Supreme Court’s decision confirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous conclusion that Trump sexually assaulted and defamed Carroll.

Kaplan emphasized that every attempt Trump made to appeal the verdict had failed, and that Monday’s decision brought an end to his effort to dodge responsibility for what he did.

What the Ruling Settles, and What It Doesn’t

The Supreme Court’s rejection effectively closes this particular case. But it does not bring Trump’s legal entanglement with Carroll to a complete end.

His attorneys have separately asked an appeals court to reconsider a different ruling, one that requires him to pay Carroll a far larger sum of $83.3 million. That portion of the dispute remains unresolved, meaning the financial stakes for Trump are still considerable.

The Backstory

The roots of this case stretch back through multiple court battles. In September, an appeals court upheld the larger $83.3 million judgment, finding that Trump had made defamatory remarks about the writer.

The three-judge panel that reviewed the matter concluded that both the jury’s verdict and the damages awarded to Carroll were fair and reasonable. The panel was pointed in its assessment, noting that the record showed Trump had acted with at least reckless disregard for the truth.

Taken together, the rulings reflect a consistent pattern across the courts, with judges and juries repeatedly siding with Carroll despite Trump’s persistent efforts to have the findings reversed. While the $5 million verdict now stands as settled, the parallel fight over the much larger award ensures the broader legal story is not quite finished.