The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up President Donald Trump’s appeal of a civil jury verdict involving author and former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, leaving intact a $5 million judgment tied to findings of sexual abuse and defamation in the underlying case.

The Court’s decision not to hear the appeal effectively allows the lower court ruling to stand, bringing the long-running legal dispute one step closer to final resolution within the federal judicial system.

The case stems from Carroll’s allegations that Trump sexually assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. A jury previously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation in connection with statements made in response to those accusations, resulting in the financial judgment now left undisturbed by the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene.

Trump’s legal team had urged the Court to review the case, arguing that the allegations were decades old and that litigation of this nature posed a distraction from presidential responsibilities. They also challenged aspects of the trial process and evidentiary rulings in the lower courts.

By declining to hear the appeal, the Supreme Court did not issue a ruling on the merits of the case itself, but allowed the judgment to remain in effect.

The decision adds another chapter to a legal saga that has moved through multiple courts and appeals, drawing sustained political attention given Trump’s role as a former president and current political figure.

With the high court stepping aside, the remaining enforcement of the judgment now proceeds through standard legal channels, marking a significant procedural moment in one of the most closely watched civil cases involving a former U.S. president in recent years.