A federal appeals court on Monday affirmed a civil jury’s finding that former President Donald Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for years of public statements and social media posts that the jury concluded defamed the longtime advice columnist after she accused him of sexual assault.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Trump’s appeal of the damages, saying the jury’s awards were “fair and reasonable” and that the record supported the district court’s determination that the “degree of reprehensibility” of Trump’s conduct was “remarkably high, perhaps unprecedented.” The appeals court said Carroll was subjected to ongoing and prolific harassment, including a multitude of death threats and other threats of physical injury, as a result of the statements.
The ruling focused on the larger of two defamation awards in the case, which included a $65 million punitive damages component that Trump had argued was unconstitutionally excessive. The panel said the punitive award was justified by Trump’s “extraordinary and unprecedented” attacks on Carroll and that the punitive damages did not exceed the bounds of reasonableness given the facts of the case.
Carroll first accused Trump in a 2019 memoir of sexually assaulting her decades earlier in a Manhattan department store dressing room. At a separate 2023 trial, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse but not rape under New York law and awarded Carroll $5 million for the assault and earlier defamatory statements. A second trial, held to determine damages for statements Trump made while he was president in 2019, produced the larger award that the appeals court affirmed.
Trump had urged a new trial following a recent Supreme Court decision that expanded presidential immunity in some contexts, arguing that the damages were excessive and that he was entitled to additional protections. The Second Circuit rejected those claims, concluding the trial judge had not erred in limiting the scope of arguments at the damages trial and that the earlier jury’s findings resolved the question of whether the assault occurred.
In its ruling, the appeals court noted that Trump continued to attack Carroll for at least five years, intensifying his statements as the trials approached and even during the proceedings. The panel cited a statement Trump issued two days into the damages trial in which he said he would continue to defame Carroll “a thousand times.”
Carroll testified at trial that she received hundreds of death threats and that the publicity surrounding the case damaged her decadeslong career, including the loss of her long-standing position at Elle magazine and the end of regular television appearances. Her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, praised Monday’s ruling, saying the court affirmed that Carroll “was telling the truth” and that they looked forward to an end to the appellate process.
Attorneys for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Legal observers and court filings indicate it is likely the former president’s lawyers will seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The opinion, written over roughly 70 pages, underscores how courts are addressing the limits of defamation law when public figures use persistent messaging and social media. The decision leaves in place one of the largest defamation awards against a former president and removes a significant barrier to collection while litigation over potential further appeals may continue.