President Donald Trump on Monday asked the US Supreme Court to review the $5 million civil case that found he sexually abused and defamed magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Last year, a federal appeals court affirmed the jury’s verdict and $5 million judgment against Trump, ruling the trial judge did not make errors that would warrant a new trial. In June, Trump lost an effort to have the appeal reviewed by the full bench of judges.
Trump has claimed Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the civil trial, made numerous errors by allowing the jury to hear testimony from two women who alleged Trump sexually assaulted them years ago.
His lawyers also said the judge should not have let the jurors see the “Access Hollywood tape,” which captured Trump in 2005 on a hot mic saying he gropes and kisses women.
Carroll sued Trump, alleging he sexually assaulted her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s and defamed her when, in 2019, he denied the assault, said she wasn’t his type, and claimed she made it up to boost sales of a book.
“There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation,” Trump told the Supreme Court in the appeal filed Monday, viewed by CNN.
“Instead, Carroll waited more than 20 years to falsely accuse Donald Trump, whom she politically opposes, until after he became the 45th president, when she could maximize political injury to him and profit for herself.”
The appeal has not yet been formally docketed at the Supreme Court.
Whether the Supreme Court takes up the case remains to be seen, but it is likely not the last time the justices will be asked to review litigation involving Carroll.
A different jury found Trump liable for defaming Carroll for repeating his statements in 2022 and ordered him to pay $83 million in damages. A federal appeals court panel affirmed the damages award, finding it “reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts” and rejected several of Trump’s legal challenges.
Among them, the appeals court found that Trump had previously waived any claim of presidential immunity. It stated that the Supreme Court’s decision last year, involving criminal cases, did not alter their view.
Trump has requested that the full bench of judges review the case. The Justice Department filed an amicus brief supporting review of whether presidential immunity can be waived “from civil damages liability predicated on official acts.” Carroll’s response is due in the next few weeks.
