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Trump urges Supreme Court to overturn E. Jean Carroll’s $83M defamation verdict
CNN • • general
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump has appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million defamation verdict by claiming presidential immunity for statements made while in office, citing the Court's 2024 ruling on presidential immunity.
- Trump's lawyers argue that holding a sitting president liable for official conduct sets a dangerous precedent and that the United States government, not Trump personally, should be the defendant under the Westfall Act.
- The appeal follows a federal appeals court affirming the damages award and rejecting Trump's immunity claims, noting he raised them too late in the litigation and previously waived such defenses.
- The Supreme Court declined to hear a related $5 million sexual abuse and defamation case involving Trump and E. Jean Carroll, but Trump continues to seek review of that decision.
- The Supreme Court will not consider the new appeal until the fall, with a potential ruling expected by next June, while Carroll maintains Trump defamed her by denying her allegations and attacking her credibility in 2019.
