The United States Supreme Court, for the second time, turned down U.S. President Donald Trump’s appeal regarding a $5 million US verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll. This decision comes after a jury found Trump responsible for sexually assaulting and defaming the former magazine columnist. Trump’s lawyers argued that the trial was unjust, but the court dismissed his request to reconsider their previous ruling from June. The court’s order, which did not provide any explanation, is a rare move as the Supreme Court seldom entertains requests for reconsideration.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is also reviewing Trump’s appeal of an $83.3 million US jury verdict for defaming Carroll during his first term as president. Trump’s lawyers claim that presidential immunity shields him from Carroll’s accusations and that lower courts erred in ruling that he had waived that defense.
The legal battle between Trump and Carroll began in 2019 when Carroll alleged in her memoir that Trump had sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. Trump vehemently denied these allegations, calling them a “hoax” and a “con job.” Although the jury in the $5 million US verdict case found Trump guilty of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, they did not conclude that he had raped her, as she had claimed.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s appeal in June, Carroll received nearly $5.63 million US from Trump, including the original $5 million US verdict plus interest. Trump’s lawyers have raised concerns that the issue of presidential immunity in the $83.3 million US verdict case could impact the earlier ruling. The Supreme Court previously ruled that former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken during their term, a decision that does not apply to civil lawsuits like those involving Carroll.