Sullivan & Cromwell joins Trump in Supreme Court bid to overturn $83 million Carroll verdict
President Donald Trump and the Justice Department have enlisted law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a jury verdict awarding writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million in defamation damages.
Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, known for representing major corporate clients, has agreed to represent President Donald Trump in a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn a jury verdict that awarded writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation. The firm had earlier indicated it would not take the case after adding Trump as a client earlier this year, but the decision was reportedly changed after intervention by Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn.
Trump and the Justice Department argue that the Westfall Act shields a president from personal liability for statements made while in office, contending that the defamation claims should be dismissed because the alleged remarks were made in 2019 during his presidency. Government lawyers said the case involves “nearly a hundred million dollars of personal liability for conduct that was well within the scope of his federal office.”
Trump’s legal team also maintains that the appellate court erred in rejecting the claim of presidential immunity, describing the damages award as “grossly excessive.” The Supreme Court previously declined to hear a separate appeal concerning a $5 million verdict in the same case.
The involvement of Sullivan & Cromwell has drawn criticism from some attorneys. George Conway, a lawyer who has publicly opposed Trump, posted on social media that he was surprised the firm was representing Trump, while New York attorney Catherine Cullen said the firm had damaged its credibility. One of the firm’s partners, Jamie McDonald, was recently confirmed as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York after serving as a personal lawyer to Trump.
Carroll alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and later defamed her by denying the allegation and questioning her motives when she disclosed the claim in a memoir. A Manhattan jury found Trump liable for defamation and awarded the $83.3 million judgment, which remains on hold pending the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to hear the appeal.