The United States Supreme Court rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s appeal for the second time on Monday regarding a $5 million US verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll. The jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist. Trump’s lawyers argued that the trial was unfair, but the justices declined to reconsider their previous decision from June regarding the 2023 jury verdict related to allegations of rape in the 1990s.
The court’s order was brief and provided no explanation, a rarity for the Supreme Court. Additionally, the justices are currently considering Trump’s appeal of a separate $83.3 million US jury verdict for defamation against Carroll during his presidency.
Trump’s legal team contends that presidential immunity protects him from Carroll’s claims and disagrees with lower courts that ruled he had waived that defense. The ongoing legal battle stems from Carroll’s accusation in 2019 that Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
In a separate case resulting in the $5 million US verdict, jurors concluded that Trump had sexually abused and defamed Carroll in 2022 when he dismissed her claims as a “hoax” and a “con job” on social media. Despite the verdict, the jury did not find Trump guilty of raping Carroll as she alleged.
Following the Supreme Court’s denial of Trump’s appeal in June, Carroll received nearly $5.63 million US from Trump, covering the original civil verdict plus interest. Trump’s lawyers argued for a rehearing, emphasizing the potential impact of the issue of presidential immunity on both the $83.3 million US verdict and the 2023 ruling.
In a significant 2024 decision, the Supreme Court established that former presidents are fully immune from criminal prosecution for actions taken during their presidency within their constitutional powers. It is important to note that the Carroll cases are civil lawsuits, not criminal proceedings.