President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an $83 million judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll, asserting that his statements denying her sexual assault claims were made in his official capacity as president and are thus protected by presidential immunity.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Trump contended that a federal appeals court failed to recognize his immunity, which he argues should shield him from liability for statements made while in office. Trump's legal team invoked the Supreme Court's 2024 presidential immunity decision, which established broad protection for presidents against prosecution for "official acts." Trump's attorneys argue that his public remarks concerning Carroll's accusations fall under this protection.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals had previously ruled against Trump, stating that he did not raise his immunity argument in a timely manner. Judge Denny Chin noted in an April opinion that "Presidential immunity was not raised for the first three years of this case."
This latest petition follows the Supreme Court's decision last month to decline hearing Trump's appeal of a separate verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, resulting in a $5 million damages award. Carroll's lawyers confirmed that the money, plus interest, had been transferred to her account.
Trump's current appeal also requests that the court permit the U.S. government to be substituted as the defendant in place of himself. His petition argues that "accusations bearing on the President's fitness for office are unquestionably matters of public concern" and that "Presidential statements responding to press questions about such accusations are plainly official."
However, the Second Circuit also addressed Trump's request for substitution, deeming it to have come too late. Judge Chin's opinion stated, "The fact of the matter is 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."
A federal jury initially found Trump liable in 2023 for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s and for defaming her in a 2022 social media post where he called her allegations "a Hoax and a lie." Subsequently, in 2024, a separate trial resulted in the $83 million judgment against him for defaming Carroll in 2019 when he denied her sexual abuse allegations.
Representatives for Carroll's attorneys declined to comment on Trump's new petition to the Supreme Court.