CNN, Wall Street Journal and Other Falsely Represent Trump Defamation Verdict

When the Supreme Court turned away Donald Trump’s appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case on June 29, 2026, several major outlets framed the moment as a sweeping judicial defeat. CNN told readers that “Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll $5 million after Supreme Court denies his appeal of sexual abuse verdict,” and the Wall Street Journal ran a similar line. Read quickly, those headlines suggest the nation’s highest court weighed the evidence, ruled against the president, and affirmed a finding of sexual abuse. That is not what happened, and the distanc…