E. Jean Carroll Collects Her $5M From Trump

Writer E. Jean Carroll has been paid. More than three years after a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing her in 1996 and for subsequently defaming her, Carroll has collected the judgment, according to newly filed court records, reports USA Today. The $5 million award, plus interest, totaled about $5.6 million and was released from a court escrow account to her lawyers after the Supreme Court declined to take up Trump's appeal, per NBC News.

"We are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict," said Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, in a statement. Trump's attorneys had argued against disbursing the money, saying he could suffer an "unrecoverable loss" if Carroll donates the funds, as she has suggested. Carroll's legal team told an appeals court last week that the money will remain in place for now. Trump continues to deny knowing Carroll or assaulting her.