Trump and Justice Department Attempt to Shield Ex-President from Accountability in $83 Million Carroll Defamation Verdict
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Donald Trump and the Justice Department have petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn an $83 million jury verdict in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll, cynically invoking presidential immunity under the Westfall Act to evade responsibility for Trump’s defamatory conduct.
President Donald Trump, with the backing of the Justice Department, is once again seeking to evade accountability by asking the Supreme Court to overturn an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll. The petition claims that Trump’s 2019 statements attacking Carroll were part of his 'official duties' as president, thus supposedly protected by the Westfall Act—a law originally intended to shield federal employees from personal liability, not to provide cover for powerful men accused of misconduct.
Federal attorneys, echoing Trump’s self-serving arguments, wrote that without Supreme Court intervention, 'the sitting President is facing nearly a hundred million dollars of personal liability for conduct that was well within the scope of his federal office,' as if smearing a survivor of sexual assault is a presidential duty. The filing, submitted electronically, is expected to be docketed on Wednesday.
Trump’s legal team went so far as to accuse the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan of 'procedural contortions' to avoid addressing the dubious claim of presidential immunity, and outrageously called the damages 'grossly excessive.' They also tried to paint Trump as a victim, arguing that no court has ever imposed damages liability on a president for conduct while in office—ignoring the unprecedented nature of Trump’s own actions.
Carroll’s attorneys declined to comment on the latest filing. This legal maneuver follows a previous $5 million verdict against Trump, which the Supreme Court declined to hear in June. Carroll bravely testified that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in 1996 and later sued for defamation after he denied the allegation and impugned her motives. A Manhattan jury awarded the $83 million verdict in January 2024; lower courts have so far upheld the judgment, though Trump’s payout remains delayed pending Supreme Court review.