A federal appeals court has confirmed a significant jury verdict against former US President Donald Trump, ruling that he must pay $83.3 million for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. This verdict stems from Trump’s denial of Carroll’s rape allegation, which she made public in 2019. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected Trump’s claim that he was entitled to presidential immunity in this civil case.
The court’s decision is a continuation of the legal battles between Trump and Carroll, a former columnist for Elle magazine. Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. In June 2023, this same court upheld a separate $5 million verdict against Trump for defamation related to comments he made about Carroll’s allegations.
Trump initially denied Carroll’s claims in June 2019, infamously stating that she was “not my type” and suggesting that she fabricated the story to promote her memoir, What Do We Need Men For? He reiterated his stance in an October 2022 post on Truth Social, which led to the earlier jury ruling. While the jury did not find that Trump had raped Carroll, they determined that his statements caused her significant emotional and reputational harm.
The larger verdict, amounting to $83.3 million, included $18.3 million for damages related to emotional distress and $65 million in punitive damages. In his latest appeal, Trump argued that a July 2024 decision by the US Supreme Court granted him substantial criminal immunity, which he believed should also protect him in this civil case.
Trump maintained that his remarks about Carroll were made while he was acting in his presidential capacity, asserting that not providing him immunity could threaten the independence of the Executive Branch. He also claimed that US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over both trials, made errors, including preventing him from providing certain testimony about his motivations for speaking publicly about Carroll.
In June, Carroll published another memoir titled Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President, which details her legal struggles against Trump. This ongoing case highlights the complex intersection of personal allegations, public figures, and the legal system, with significant implications for both parties involved.
