Trump Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider Blocking $5 Million Carroll Award

Q: Will the Supreme Court break from tradition to rehear the $5 million Carroll case?

Probably not. Trump’s request asks the Supreme Court to do something it almost never does: reopen a case after already denying review on June 29. Petitions for rehearing are formally allowed, but they are granted only in exceptionally rare circumstances, and the Court usually rejects them without explanation. The procedural posture also works against him. The $5 million judgment was upheld by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found no trial error, and the Supreme Court already declined to intervene. A denial of certiorari is not a ruling on the merits, but it normally ends the road unless at least four justices decide the case now warrants review. There is no public sign that such support exists. Trump’s lawyers argue the trial was tainted by evidence including testimony from other women and the “Access Hollywood” tape, and they want the justices to consider this case alongside the separate $83.3 million Carroll defamation judgment. That may explain the unusual filing, especially after the Court repeatedly rescheduled the earlier petition. But legal analysts describe rehearing after a denial as an extremely difficult request, not a routine next step. So while the filing could delay payment if the Court pauses collection, the stronger expectation is that the justices will stick to normal practice and refuse to rehear the $5 million Carroll case.

Q: With a payment deadline today, what is President Trump’s final legal gambit?

Trump’s final legal gambit is an extraordinary petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear and reopen the $5 million E. Jean Carroll case, after the justices already refused to take it. The filing is aimed at stopping Carroll from receiving the money now held in escrow. Trump’s lawyers are trying to use the court’s rarely granted rehearing process to delay release of the funds past today’s deadline. They argue the trial was flawed, including the judge’s decision to allow testimony from other women and the “Access Hollywood” tape, even though the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already upheld the verdict and found no reversible error. This is widely seen as a last-ditch move because Supreme Court rehearing petitions are almost never granted. The court accepts only a small share of cases to begin with, and reopening one it has already declined is even more unusual. Judge Lewis Kaplan has already rejected Trump’s request for more time to pay, leaving him with a July 7 deadline either to let the money be released or to press additional arguments. In practical terms, the Supreme Court rehearing request is his final effort to keep Carroll from collecting the roughly $5.8 million now sitting in the court-controlled account, including interest.

Q: How will the pending $83.3 million case impact the Supreme Court's current decision?

The pending $83.3 million case could affect timing, but not the legal standard the Supreme Court applies to the current $5 million dispute. Trump’s lawyers have asked the justices to consider the two Carroll matters together, and court watchers have noted that the Supreme Court repeatedly rescheduled the $5 million petition, an unusual pattern that may reflect waiting for the larger defamation case to arrive. If the Court agrees to link the matters procedurally, that could further delay any final action on whether Carroll can collect the $5 million now held in escrow. But the $83.3 million case does not automatically change the merits of the current request. The Supreme Court decides whether to hear a case based on legal questions of broader importance, not on the size of the award alone. A rehearing request is especially difficult because the Court almost never reopens a petition it has already denied. So the practical impact of the $83.3 million case is mainly procedural: it may encourage the Court to hold or coordinate the $5 million matter while the second appeal develops. Unless the justices take that unusual step, the earlier lower-court rulings remain in place, and the larger pending judgment does not by itself alter the Court’s current decision.

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 7

Donald Trump on Monday made a last-ditch request for the US Supreme Court to revisit its June 29 refusal to hear his appeal over E. Jean Carroll’s $5 million judgment.
The filing seeks to stop Carroll from collecting money now held in escrow, including interest, while Trump continues fighting the jury’s finding that he sexually abused and defamed her.
A Supreme Court decision to reopen the case would be unusual and could temporarily delay payment, extending Trump’s effort to unwind the award despite the court’s earlier rejection.