Trump asks Supreme Court to reverse $83 million E. Jean Carroll verdict

Donald Trump's legal team has petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse a 2024 New York jury verdict that found the former president liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. This appeal follows a federal appeals court decision that declined to rehear the $83 million defamation case. The case centers on statements Trump made denying Carroll's accusations that he sexually abused her in the 1990s. In his Supreme Court filing, Trump argues that his statements were protected by presidential immunity and were made within his official capacity as president. His attorneys contend that responding to accusations regarding a president's fitness for office constitutes an official act. Furthermore, Trump seeks to have the U.S. government substituted as the defendant, citing the Westfall Act, which protects government employees from lawsuits related to their duties. This legal battle represents the first instance in U.S. history where a court has imposed damages liability on a president for conduct occurring while in office. Carroll has successfully pursued two lawsuits against Trump, resulting in a $5 million judgment in 2023 and the subsequent $83 million verdict. Trump has already paid the $5 million settlement for the first case after his initial appeal to the Supreme Court was unsuccessful. The current petition now seeks to challenge the larger verdict that resulted from the second defamation lawsuit.