President Donald Trump is seeking the intervention of the Supreme Court to overturn a $5 million judgment awarded against him in a case involving E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of sexual abuse and defamation. The appeal comes after the verdict was upheld by a federal appeals court, with Trump's legal team branding the case a component of a Democratic "witch hunt" against him. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team further called it part of the "Liberal Lawfare" that the ex-president has been contending with, as reported by USA Today.
The Supreme Court filing, which spans 314 pages, argues Carroll took more than two decades to come forth with her accusations, purportedly waiting to do so until Trump assumed the presidency. The legal documents suggest a resemblance between Carroll's allegations and the plot of her reported favorite TV show, "Law & Order." One of Trump’s lawyers, Justin D. Smith, stated, "President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this supposed incident ever occurred," according to NBC New York. Touching on evidentiary matters, they claim there is "no physical or DNA evidence" backing Carroll's story, coupled with the absence of eyewitnesses, video proof, or an official police report or investigation.
The obstacles for Trump have been mounting since a three-judge appellate panel upheld the verdict in December 2024, and this past June, the 2nd Circuit judges struck down Trump’s petition for the full appellate court to reexamine the case. Consequently, the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, appears to be Trump’s final avenue for appeal. Trump sat out the 2023 trial but was briefly present at a subsequent defamation trial the following year, resulting in an additional $83.3 million judgment against him—a ruling also upheld by the 2nd Circuit in September, as outlined by NBC New York.
Within the ongoing legal saga, E. Jean Carroll alleged Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York City department store back in 1996. Trump retaliated by dismissing the claims as an effort to sell Carroll's book. A ruling against him by a jury, which later prompted an $83.3 million judgment, seemed to solidify her claims in the legal realm. Trump's denial persisted in a 2022 social media post, while not in office, which spurred another lawsuit from Carroll leveraging a New York state provision that allowed sexual abuse survivors to sue. This culminated in the jury finding Trump liable for sexual abuse, resulting in the contested $5 million verdict. USA Today reports that Trump's continued defamation of Carroll led to the $83.3 million award, with appeals courts negating his claim of immunity due to a Supreme Court decision from 2024 on presidential conduct while in office.
.jpg){kind=link}