Trump urges Supreme Court to overturn E. Jean Carroll’s $83M defamation verdict

Trump Seeks Supreme Court Intervention in Carroll Defamation Case

Sandego.net – President Donald Trump has formally petitioned the nation’s highest court to reverse a substantial financial judgment against him in his ongoing legal dispute with columnist E. Jean Carroll. The appeal, submitted on Tuesday, challenges an $83.3 million jury verdict for defamation. Trump’s legal team argues that the president should be shielded from this litigation based on his status as commander-in-chief, citing the Supreme Court’s landmark 2024 ruling that established broad immunity protections for presidential actions performed within the scope of official duties.

According to a copy of the appeal examined by CNN, the petition has not yet been officially docketed at the Supreme Court. Trump’s attorneys emphasized the unprecedented nature of the situation, telling the justices that this represents the first instance in American history where a court has levied damages against a sitting president for conduct undertaken while in office. They noted that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals failed to address whether presidential immunity should apply when it upheld the substantial $83.3 million judgment.

Arguments for Presidential Protection

The appeal presents multiple grounds for reconsideration. Beyond the immunity question, Trump is requesting that the court determine whether the United States government, rather than the president personally, should serve as the defendant in this matter. His legal representatives highlighted the extraordinary circumstances, noting that the president has been ordered to pay nearly $100 million in damages for relatively routine actions—issuing a press release and responding to reporters’ questions from the White House while defending his fitness for office.

Trump’s legal team warned the justices that an appeals court decision favoring Carroll could “cause significant damage, not only to this president and future presidents” but also to the nation as a whole. This argument aligns with what observers have noted as Chief Justice John Roberts’ efforts to send a broader message through the court’s recent decisions regarding presidential authority.

Timeline and Procedural History

Carroll’s attorneys declined to provide comment regarding the latest appeal. This development follows closely on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to decline jurisdiction over a separate case involving Trump. In that matter, the president sought to overturn a $5 million civil verdict that found he had sexually abused and defamed Carroll at a Bergdorf Goodman department store during the 1990s. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in both legal proceedings.

The current appeal centers on statements Trump made against Carroll in 2019 while serving as president. A jury determined these statements were defamatory and awarded Carroll $83 million in damages. A federal appeals court panel subsequently affirmed this damages award, describing it as “reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts” presented during trial. The panel also rejected several of Trump’s legal challenges to the verdict.

Immunity Claims and Judicial Response

Among the legal challenges the appeals court addressed was Trump’s assertion of presidential immunity. The court found that Trump had previously waived any claim of immunity and concluded that the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision did not change their position on the matter. The full Second US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to revisit this decision in late April.

During that April ruling, US Circuit Judge Denny Chin, who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, wrote that Trump had raised his immunity claims “far too late in the litigation.” Judge Chin noted that “presidential immunity was not raised for the first three years of this case.” Additionally, Chin resisted Trump’s attempt to have the United States substituted as a defendant, writing that “no other defendant would be permitted to move to substitute the United States in his place, fifteen months after trial and the entry of judgment against him.”

“Presidential immunity was not raised for the first three years of this case,” wrote US Circuit Judge Denny Chin.

Government Intervention and Future Timeline

Both Trump and the Department of Justice indicated at that time that they would appeal to the Supreme Court. The president stated he would raise claims of immunity from civil claims for “official acts” performed as president. Meanwhile, the Justice Department announced its intention to intervene and effectively take over the case under the Westfall Act. This legislation shields individual federal employees from tort suits for actions taken while engaged with their official duties.

While the Westfall Act typically places federal taxpayers on the hook for an employee’s actions, in this particular case, government intervention would almost certainly mean the conclusion of Carroll’s defamation case. Because the Supreme Court is not in session during the summer months, it will not consider the president’s appeal until the fall. If the court agrees to hear the case, it would not likely hand down a decision until next June.

Carroll claims that Trump defamed her when, in 2019, he denied the assault, stated that she wasn’t his type, and claimed she fabricated the incident to boost sales of a book. In an appeal he filed last year regarding the $5 million verdict, Trump told the Supreme Court: “There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation.” Instead, according to Trump, “Carroll waited more than” a decade before bringing her claims forward.