A federal court in New York has ordered US President Donald Trump to immediately pay writer Jean Carroll compensation totalling about Rs 55 crore, including interest, in a case linked to sexual assault allegations and defamation.
Carroll has alleged that Trump sexually assaulted her in 1996 inside a changing room at a luxury department store in Manhattan. Trump publicly dismissed her claim as false, after which Carroll filed a defamation suit.
In 2023, a civil jury found Trump liable and directed him to pay compensation of about Rs 48 crore. However, the amount was kept in court custody as Trump pursued an appeal.
After the country’s top court declined to take up Trump’s appeal, the earlier verdict stood. Citing delays in the case, the federal judge ordered that the compensation, along with accrued interest, be released to Carroll immediately.
Trump’s lawyers then filed an emergency request before an appeals court, but it was rejected. The appeals judge ruled that payment to Carroll could not be blocked.
