Ah, the E. Jean Carroll saga—it’s like a bad blind date that turned into a decade-long bar tab, courtesy of the deep-blue bowels of New York City. Back in the mid-1990s, Carroll claims Trump cornered her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room for a forcible fumble that she couldn’t pin down to a specific year, let alone a coherent timeline. Her memory? Spotty as a leopard with alopecia. Yet, in a courtroom stacked like a Manhattan high-rise with liberal leanings, Trump got tagged for sexual abuse and defamation, coughing up millions while the jury politely declined to buy the full rape narrative. It was a travesty wrapped in a farce, served with a side of political vendetta. But hold onto your MAGA hats, folks—the wheel of fortune might just be creaking in the other direction now that Trump’s back in the Oval Office saddle.
The Dressing Room Debacle: How It All Unraveled
Flash back to May 2023: A federal jury in New York, that bastion of balanced jurisprudence, deliberated for all of three hours before deciding Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll sometime in the nebulous mid-1990s. They tacked on defamation for his 2019 denials, where he called her story a hoax aimed at hawking her book. Damages? A cool $5 million—$2 million for the abuse, $3 million for the smack-talk. No rape finding, mind you; the jury drew the line there, but that didn’t stop the headlines from screaming otherwise.
Fast-forward to January 2024: Carroll wasn’t done. She sued again over Trump’s 2022 comments repeating his denials, and another jury—same city, same vibe—slapped him with an eye-watering $83.3 million. That’s $10 million in compensatory damages and a whopping $65 million in punitives, because apparently calling out what looks like a shakedown deserves a financial flogging. Trump’s team argued the whole thing was tainted by inadmissible evidence, like the infamous Access Hollywood tape from 2005 and testimonies from other women with their own ancient allegations. But in a town where Lady Justice wears Birkenstocks, those pleas fell flatter than a Manhattan sidewalk pizza.
Appeals: Uphill Battles in a Downhill Town
Trump didn’t roll over. He appealed the $5 million verdict, claiming the trial judge botched it by letting in that propensity evidence—basically, allowing the jury to play connect-the-dots with unrelated claims. In December 2024, a three-judge panel from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the whole shebang, saying the errors, if any, didn’t sway the outcome. Trump pushed for a full court rehearing in June 2025, but that got shot down faster than a clay pigeon at a skeet shoot.
The $83.3 million monster? Appealed too. Trump invoked presidential immunity, arguing his 2022 denials were official acts from his first term. But on September 8, 2025, another Second Circuit panel affirmed it, calling the award “fair and reasonable” given the “extraordinary and egregious facts.” They dismissed the immunity play, noting it didn’t shield personal smears. No dice on reducing the payout either—Trump’s wallet stayed on the hook.
The Supreme Gambit: Tables Turning at Last?
Here’s where the plot thickens like overcooked gravy. On November 10, 2025—just four days ago—Trump petitioned the Supreme Court to review and reverse the $5 million verdict. His filing calls Carroll’s tale “facially implausible” and “politically motivated,” hammering the lower courts for admitting inflammatory evidence that turned the trial into a circus. No automatic right to a Supreme hearing, of course; it takes four justices to grant certiorari, and they turn away most comers. The petition isn’t even docketed yet, and Carroll’s team will file their opposition soon.
But wait—there’s a fresh twist straight from Trump’s camp.
With him sworn in for term two, the Attorney General has greenlit the Department of Justice to step in and handle the defense, arguing Carroll’s claims tie back to Trump’s official White House statements. That’s a game-changer, potentially shifting the bill to Uncle Sam and reopening the immunity can of worms. It’s not a done deal, but in a post-2024 immunity landscape, it smells like leverage.
The Crystal Ball: What’s the Endgame?
Predicting Supreme Court moves is like forecasting the weather in a tornado—dicey at best. They might swat it away as a garden-variety civil spat without big constitutional stakes. Or, with a 6-3 conservative tilt (three of whom owe their robes to Trump), they could bite, especially if immunity or evidence rules ping their radar. If they take it and rule for Trump, the $5 million vanishes, and the $83.3 million domino might topple too, since it’s built on the same shaky foundation.
Likely outcome? Don’t bet the farm, but the odds favor Trump more now than in the New York trenches. As president, he can wield executive muscle—maybe push for a settlement or let DOJ absorb the fight. Carroll’s story, riddled with timeline wobbles and no corroborating DNA (Trump refused to provide a sample, but courts didn’t force it), never screamed airtight. In an America First world, this looks like lawfare leftovers from the resistance era, and with Trump holding the reins, expect the carousel to slow down. Justice delayed might finally be justice denied—for the witch hunters, that is