US court upholds $83 million defamation verdict against Donald Trump in rape case | World News
A US appeals court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn an $83.3 million jury award to writer E Jean Carroll, who said Trump damaged her reputation denying her allegation of rape in 2019, Reuters reported.
What was the case?
Carroll, 81, a former Elle magazine column, has accused Trump of attacking her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s.
Trump denied the allegation in 2019, telling a reporter that Carroll was “not my type” and had invented the story to sell her memoir.
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How did the court rule?
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed Trump’s claim that he was entitled to presidential immunity.
A three-judge panel wrote in its opinion, “The jury’s duly rendered damages awards were reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts of this case.”
What did Trump argue?
Trump argued that the US Supreme Court’s 2024 decision granting him broad criminal immunity should also shield him in civil lawsuits.
He also said his comments in 2019 were made in his role as president, and that denying him immunity could weaken the executive branch. The court rejected those arguments.Story continues below this ad
What has happened so far?
A separate jury in May 2023 ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million for defamation and sexual assault. The 2nd Circuit upheld that decision in June 2024.
The $83.3 million verdict, delivered in January 2024, included $18.3 million in damages for emotional and reputational harm and $65 million in punitive damages.
Neither the White House nor Trump’s lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment, Reuters reported. Carroll published another memoir in June titled Not My Type: One Woman vs a President, reflecting on her legal battles.
