An appellate court has just rejected President Donald Trump appeal of the verdict that was rendered in the case brought against him by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll. 

Fox News reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit released its decision on Friday.

The court, according to the outlet, rejected Trump's appeal outright, refusing even to hear his arguments. What this means is that Trump's only option, now, is the court of last resort - the Supreme Court.

Appeals court won’t reconsider Trump’s $5M loss to E. Jean Carroll https://t.co/D4XwSUIKOo pic.twitter.com/5U2M10Z0UK

— New York Post (@nypost) June 13, 2025

Background

Carroll is the woman who has infamously accused Trump of having sexually assaulted her in a dressing room in a department store some three decades ago. She first made the claim in a book that she published in 2019.

Fox reports:

Carroll sued Trump, a one-time New York real estate mogul, twice after she released her book in 2019, which claimed Trump raped her during a brief encounter with him in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. Trump vigorously denied the claims, saying he had never met Carroll, that she was not his "type" and that she fabricated the incident to sell books. His vocal and repeated criticisms and denials led to Carroll's defamation allegations.

That's right - Carroll brought a lawsuit against Trump claiming not only that he sexually abused her but that he defamed her by essentially denying the claims in terms that Carroll did not like. A New York jury found Trump liable on both claims, awarding Carroll some $5 million. The jury notably found that Trump did not rape her.

Carroll also brought a second case against Trump, right after her book's release, alleging defamation. Here, a jury again found in her favor and awarded her $83 million.

This case at issue here is the $5 million one. Trump is also appealing the $83 million verdict, but that's still taking place.

Denied

As stated earlier, an appellate court has now denied Trump's appeal of the $5 million sexual abuse and defamation verdict. The decision, according to The Hill, was unanimous: 8-2. This included many appointees of former President Joe Biden.

The court wrote, "Simply re-litigating a case is not an appropriate use of the en banc procedure."

It added, "In those rare instances in which a case warrants our collective consideration, it is almost always because it involves a question of exceptional importance or a conflict between the panel’s opinion and appellate precedent."

What this means is that Trump has only one option left in this case, namely an appeal to the Supreme Court.

It remains to be seen whether or not Trump will exercise this option.