Trump seeks to overturn $83M Carroll verdict

Justice Department urges Supreme Court to let federal government replace Trump as defendant in case

US President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to overturn an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, arguing that presidential immunity protects him from liability over statements made while in office. His lawyers said the Supreme Court’s 2024 immunity ruling applies, saying: “This is the first case in our Nation’s history in which a court has imposed damages liability on a President for his conduct in office.” The Justice Department also urged the Supreme Court to let the federal government replace Trump as the defendant, according to the Washington Post. If approved, the administration could seek to void the judgment because the federal government cannot be sued for defamation. Lower courts previously rejected similar requests. Carroll publicly accused Trump in 2019, leading him to deny the allegations and describe them as a “complete con job,” a “Hoax” and a “Scam” intended to boost sales of her memoir. An appeals court upheld the verdict in September and later refused to rehear the case, clearing the way for Trump’s Supreme Court appeal. Trump has also appealed a separate $5 million verdict in another Carroll defamation case. The Supreme Court declined in June to disturb that ruling, which found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.