The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump's request to appeal the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll case, a decision that leaves the judgment against him standing. The move closes off one of the president's remaining avenues to overturn the outcome through the nation's highest court.
By declining to take up the appeal, the justices left in place the verdict that had been reached against Trump in the case. The Supreme Court's refusal to intervene means the legal fight has now moved from whether the verdict stands to how it will be enforced.
In the wake of that decision, Carroll's attorneys are asking a federal judge to order the president to pay her the 5 million dollars tied to the case. The request shifts the focus toward securing the payment that flows from the judgment.
According to her legal team, Trump's lawyers have told them that the president might still ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its position, a step that would take the form of a petition for rehearing. That would represent a further attempt to reopen a matter the court has already declined to hear.
Legal observers, however, cast doubt on the prospects of such a move. A legal analyst noted that while the president is certainly entitled to file a petition for rehearing, the Supreme Court will almost certainly deny it, given that the justices consider their petitions carefully before acting.
The assessment offered was blunt, that Trump is at the end of the line when it comes to this case and is going to have to pay up. The developments came as the Supreme Court wrapped up a term that produced a series of high profile decisions, with the Carroll matter now pointing toward enforcement of the judgment rather than any further appeal.