
E Jean Carroll fights TrumpâÂÂs last-ditch push to dismiss $83m damages verdict
Lawyers file opposition to TrumpâÂÂs request, telling supreme court justices they do not need âÂÂto bail out this presidentâÂÂ
E Jean CarrollâÂÂs lawyers are fighting Donald TrumpâÂÂs efforts to toss her $83m damages verdict in the US supreme court, telling the justices that they do not need âÂÂto bail out this president from the consequences of his repeated litigation choicesâÂÂ.
Jurors delivered Carroll the huge award on 26 January 2024, less than one year after the journalist and author won $5m in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Trump. The president has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Carroll.
CarrollâÂÂs legal team on 30 October filed their opposition to TrumpâÂÂs request that the supreme court consider his appeal of CarrollâÂÂs massive win. Among TrumpâÂÂs legal arguments is a claim that presidential immunity protects him from liability from conduct during his time in office, including 2019 statements in which he called Carroll a liar.
TrumpâÂÂs lawyers have also claimed that absent supreme court intervention, âÂÂthe sitting President is facing nearly a hundred million dollars of personal liability for conduct that was well within the scope of his federal office ⦠that alone deserves this courtâÂÂs attention.âÂÂ
TrumpâÂÂs lawyers said that a supreme court review of this verdict would âÂÂprotect not the President himself, but the institution of the PresidencyâÂÂ. They said âÂÂafter all, the specter of personal liability for official conduct, in an amount that would bankrupt virtually any other President, will chill the exercise of executive power by future Presidents.âÂÂ
CarrollâÂÂs lawyers, helmed by attorney Roberta Kaplan, noted that the verdict in CarrollâÂÂs second trial â which weighed damages, as the former Elle columnistâÂÂs first trial ended in a jury finding that Trump sexually abused and defamed her â has been repeatedly upheld by lower courts, undermining TrumpâÂÂs request.
âÂÂFor seven years â through five appeals, eight stay motions, and six days of trial â Ms Carroll has litigated this case in the face of petitionerâÂÂs increasingly vicious accusations and thousands of threats of death and sexual violence from his followers,â they wrote.
TrumpâÂÂs defamatory statements, they said, âÂÂhad a domino effectâÂÂ. Carroll, they said, was âÂÂinstantly and continuously attacked on Twitter and Facebook and in emailsâÂÂ. These attacks included âÂÂthreats of sexual violence, physical violence, and death.âÂÂ
âÂÂWhile this President may want this CourtâÂÂs help, the Presidency does not need it,â they also said.
Trump in September agreed to stop fighting the first jury verdict after the supreme court once again rebuffed his efforts to hear his appeal.
The litigation stems from CarrollâÂÂs claim that Trump attacked her in the dressing room of a Tony Manhattan department store several decades earlier. CarrollâÂÂs allegation went public in a June 2019 New York magazine article, which was an excerpt of her then forthcoming book, What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal.
Asked for comment on CarrollâÂÂs new filing, a spokesman for TrumpâÂÂs legal team said: âÂÂThe American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes. President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.âÂÂ
