The legal battle between E. Jean Carroll and former President Donald Trump has reached its latest turning point, with a federal appeals court upholding the $83.3 million defamation judgment against Trump. The decision arrived on Monday, with the three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously deeming the jury's damage awards—as steep as they are—both "fair and reasonable," echoing the assessment that Trump's conduct toward Carroll bore a degree of reprehensibility that may indeed be "perhaps unprecedented," as reported by NBC New York.
In rejecting Trump's appeal, the judges, appointed by former Presidents Obama and Biden, also concluded that Trump couldn't fall back on presidential immunity, as he had waived this right earlier on by not raising it at the appropriate time, and this decision remained firm even after Trump's lawyers argued that immunity is "not waivable," a claim that was reported by The Guardian. The damages include $18.3 million for emotional and reputational harm, and $65 million in punitive damages the jury awarded last year; as the appeals court noted ample evidence of Trump being recklessly indifferent to Carroll’s health and safety manifested in years of attacks aimed at discrediting her.
Carroll's accusation of sexual assault by Trump dates back to an alleged incident in the mid-'90s, which became a public matter following her memoir and subsequent litigation, Trump's team responded to the latest court ruling with a familiar refrain, calling for "an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system," and denounced the legal actions as part of the "Carroll Hoaxes" in a statement to NBC New York. Yet, the sentiment from the 2nd Circuit could not diverge more sharply, observing Trump's behavior as an aggravation that became "more extreme and frequent as the trial approached."
Meanwhile, Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, received Monday's decision as an affirmation of truth, stating that the appeals court confirmed that "Carroll was telling the truth, and that President Donald Trump was not," according to NBC New York, this move could potentially close the appellate window, though the Supreme Court looms as the next and final stage for Trump's defense. At the crux of this legal saga stands the relentless public crucible into which Trump thrust Carroll, her allegations withstanding Trump's fervently disseminated denials and resulting in a price tag of $83.3 million—one that Trump vociferously challenges, yet with each appeal seems increasingly likely to pay. With the case likely headed to the Supreme Court, Kaplan and her client eye an end to what has been a drawn-out and high-stakes litigation process.
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