President Donald Trump has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll, arguing presidential immunity shields him from liability for statements made during his time in office.
Presidential Immunity Defense Takes Center Stage
Trump’s legal team claims he cannot be held liable for denying Carroll’s sexual assault allegations because his statements were made in his official capacity as president. The petition directly invokes the Supreme Court’s 2024 presidential immunity ruling, which established broad protections from prosecution for official acts. Trump’s attorneys accused the Second Circuit Court of Appeals of engaging in procedural gymnastics to sidestep addressing presidential immunity. The circuit court ruled Trump failed to raise the immunity argument within the appropriate timeframe during the three-year case.
Judge Denny Chin’s April opinion noted that presidential immunity was not raised for the first three years of the litigation. Trump’s petition also requests the justices permit the United States government to replace him as the defendant in the case. His legal team argues that presidential statements responding to press questions about accusations bearing on the president’s fitness for office are official acts. The Second Circuit rejected this substitution request as coming too long after judgment was entered.
Two Separate Jury Verdicts Against Trump
A federal jury determined in 2023 that Trump sexually abused Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room during the 1990s. That jury also found Trump defamed Carroll in a 2022 social media post where he called her allegations a hoax and stated she was not his type. The 2024 trial resulted in the $83 million damages award specifically for Trump’s 2019 statements denying the sexual abuse allegations. Last month, the Supreme Court declined without dissent to hear Trump’s appeal of a separate $5 million verdict. That money, with interest, was subsequently transferred into Carroll’s account according to her legal team.
Constitutional Questions Loom Over Case
Trump’s petition frames the issue as whether accusations about presidential fitness constitute matters of public concern requiring official presidential response. His attorneys argue such responses deserve immunity protection under constitutional principles. The case tests the boundaries of presidential immunity established in the controversial 2024 Supreme Court decision that effectively ended special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference investigation. Carroll’s legal team has declined to comment on the latest Supreme Court petition. The justices now face deciding whether to hear arguments that could further expand or clarify presidential immunity protections for sitting presidents responding to personal allegations.