NEW YORK (AP) — E. Jean Carroll is now set to collect $5.8 million, funds currently held in escrow, following a federal judge's decision on Wednesday. This ruling comes after a jury had found that former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed Carroll. Trump’s legal team has appealed this decision but was denied an immediate order to halt the payment process.

Shortly after the jury's verdict in 2023, Trump deposited the awarded sum into an escrow account. The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the civil verdict, allowing Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to initiate the release of the funds, which initially amounted to $5 million and has since increased due to interest.

The jury established that Trump attacked Carroll in 1996 within a dressing room of a high-end Manhattan department store. Additionally, he was found to have defamed her after she publicly described the incident in a 2019 memoir during his presidential term. In various statements, Trump dismissed Carroll’s allegations as false, famously stating in an interview that "she's not my type."

Trump's lawyers announced on Wednesday their intentions to continue appealing the verdict, insisting it is a part of a partisan effort to undermine him. They argued in their legal documents that Judge Kaplan’s decision to release the funds should not be immediate since Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court to reassess its previous decision.

In a late Wednesday ruling, Judge Eunice C. Lee of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to allow the money transfer to Carroll to be put on hold, emphasizing the need for resolution in this lengthy legal battle.

Carroll’s legal team expressed in a filing with the appellate court that “it is time for this case to come to an end," noting that Carroll has waited over three years for the jury's awarded damages to be disbursed and asserted that she should not endure further delays.

The jury reached its verdict during a trial that Trump did not attend, after hearing Carroll recount how a previously friendly encounter with Trump had escalated into violence. Trump has consistently claimed he has no recollection of meeting Carroll, now 82, and accused her of attempting to capitalize on his notoriety for financial gain while alleging ulterior political motives behind her claims.

In the wake of New York's legislative reforms that provided sexual abuse survivors with renewed litigation opportunities, Carroll filed a lawsuit against Trump. Judge Kaplan remarked in a memorandum that Trump has been "stalling this case for years," asserting it is now essential for him to fulfill the court's judgment.

Besides the $5.8 million awarded in the sexual abuse case, Trump is contesting another award of $83 million for defamation, which was mandated by a separate Manhattan jury following a trial in 2024, where he briefly testified. During this second trial, Judge Kaplan instructed the jury to accept the findings of the prior jury and focus solely on determining the monetary damages Trump owed Carroll based on his comments while in office.

Trump’s legal representatives voiced criticism toward Kaplan's management of the damages trial, alleging that he prevented them from presenting evidence disputing the occurrence of the encounter with Carroll.

When the 2nd Circuit dismissed the opportunity for all judges to revisit the appeal related to the $83 million award, Circuit Judge Denny Chin commented on the extensive history of Trump publicly claiming that Carroll lied for both political and financial reasons, and ridiculing her physical appearance in a manner that questioned the plausibility of her allegations. He noted that Trump’s statements had subjected Carroll to significant harassment, humiliation, and threats to her safety over several years, emphasizing Trump’s lack of remorse throughout the entire process, as he continued to criticize Carroll during and after two federal trials.

In summary, this ongoing legal saga highlights the complexities of high-profile defamation and abuse claims and illustrates the challenges faced by victims in seeking justice against powerful figures.