Trump and Justice Department Seek Supreme Court Review of $83 Million Carroll Defamation Verdict

President Donald Trump and the Justice Department have asked the Supreme Court to set aside an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll. The petition argues that the statements Trump made about Carroll in 2019 were part of his official duties and therefore protected by the Westfall Act, which shields federal employees from personal liability for actions taken in the scope of their jobs.

Federal attorneys wrote that, without the Court’s 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,” and that the matter merits the Court’s attention. The filing was submitted electronically and is expected to be docketed on Wednesday.

Trump’s legal team contended that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan engaged in “procedural contortions” to avoid addressing the claim of presidential immunity and described the damages as “grossly excessive.” They also noted that the case is unprecedented in that a court has imposed damages liability on a president for conduct while in office.

Carroll’s attorneys declined to comment on the latest filing. The dispute follows a prior $5 million verdict against Trump, which the Supreme Court declined to hear in June. Carroll 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 questioned her motives. A Manhattan jury awarded the $83 million verdict in January 2024; lower courts have so far upheld the judgment while the payout remains delayed pending Supreme Court review.