A federal appeals court on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn a jury verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million in damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation.
In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the award, dismissing Trump’s arguments that the verdict was both excessive and invalid in light of a recent Supreme Court decision that broadened presidential immunity.
The judges stated that Trump “has failed to identify any grounds that would warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity.” They further concluded that the trial court “did not err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable.”
The ruling represents a significant legal setback for Trump, who has repeatedly denied Carroll’s accusation that he raped her in the mid-1990s in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store in Manhattan. Carroll filed multiple lawsuits after Trump publicly attacked her credibility and denied the allegation.
Monday’s decision came just days after Trump’s legal team signalled they would soon ask the US Supreme Court to review another jury verdict in a separate case brought by Carroll, which awarded her $5 million in damages.
Both cases centre on defamatory statements Trump made while denying Carroll’s allegations, with courts previously finding that his comments were intended to discredit and damage her reputation.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest ruling.
Boluwatife Enome
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