Donald Trump is again petitioning the Supreme Court, this time asking the justices to review a $5.6 million judgment awarded to E. Jean Carroll, which has already been paid. The request comes approximately two weeks after the Supreme Court declined a prior request from Trump to review the award, leading to the transfer of the funds to Carroll in early July.
Trump's legal team has filed a petition for rehearing, a procedural step that asks the justices to reconsider their earlier decision. This week, the Supreme Court agreed to distribute this request to all nine justices. This action clears the path for the court to potentially rule on the matter as early as August.
The case stems from a lawsuit Carroll filed in 2022, in which she accused Trump of sexual assault in the 1990s and subsequent defamation. Carroll's lawyers have stated that Trump has already unsuccessfully appealed the judgment through various courts, including a prior rejection by the Supreme Court in June.
The rarity of a petition for rehearing highlights the unusual nature of Trump's current bid. The last time the Supreme Court granted such a petition was in 2018.
Trump's lawyers plan to leverage a recent Supreme Court precedent in their petition for rehearing. They intend to argue that presidential immunity, as discussed in the 2024 case Trump v. United States, should extend to civil cases concerning statements made by Trump in 2019 while he was president. The Supreme Court's ruling in that case established that a sitting president possesses absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for core constitutional powers exercised in office, and at least presumptive immunity for other official acts.
Despite this legal maneuver, it remains uncertain whether the Supreme Court will grant the rehearing request. Absent extraordinary intervention, the judgment against Trump will remain in effect.