The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting en banc, on June 13 rejected former President Donald Trump’s request for a rehearing of a $5 million civil verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. The underlying jury award was issued in 2023 after jurors concluded that Trump assaulted Carroll in a Manhattan department store during the mid-1990s and later defamed her when he denied the allegation. The 13-member court declined the petition by a reported 8–2 margin, with both dissenters appointed by Trump. By refusing to reopen the case, the appellate court left a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court as Trump’s only remaining avenue to overturn the judgment. Friday’s ruling does not affect a separate $83.3 million defamation award Carroll won earlier this year, which remains under challenge before a different Second Circuit panel.