Trump asks Supreme Court to toss E. Jean Carroll defamation award
Trump asked the justices to overturn an $83.3 million defamation verdict tied to E. Jean Carroll’s assault allegation.
By Maya Okafor · Markets Writer
· 3 min read
President Donald Trump took the Trump Supreme Court Carroll fight to the nation’s highest court Tuesday, asking the justices to throw out an $83.3 million civil defamation award to writer E. Jean Carroll. The immediate financial issue is straightforward: a jury verdict ordered Trump to pay damages, and his petition seeks to erase that liability.
The award stems from Carroll’s claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Trump was found liable for defaming Carroll while denying her allegation, according to the civil court verdict described in the petition.
Trump’s lawyer argued in the Supreme Court filing that the case is historically unusual because it imposed damages on a president for actions taken while in office. “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 petition says.
What is Trump asking the Supreme Court to do?
Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the civil verdict that required him to pay Carroll $83.3 million. A petition to the Supreme Court is a request for the justices to review a lower-court outcome; the Court can choose whether to take the case.
The filing does not, by itself, change the verdict. It starts a process in which the justices decide whether the legal questions raised are significant enough for Supreme Court review.
What was the defamation award about?
Defamation is a civil claim involving statements alleged to harm someone’s reputation. In this case, the verdict centered on Trump’s denials of Carroll’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her decades earlier.
Carroll was photographed outside Manhattan federal court during the second civil trial connected to her allegations against Trump in January 2024, according to Reuters. The case has remained a major legal fight because it combines a large damages award with claims involving a sitting president’s conduct in office, as characterized by Trump’s petition.
Why the Supreme Court request is significant
The petition frames the issue around presidential liability, not only the dollar amount of the judgment. Trump’s legal team is asking the Court to address whether damages can be imposed on a president for conduct tied to his time in office, according to the filing.
For readers following markets and politics, the case is not a public-company earnings story. Its financial significance is personal to Trump: the $83.3 million award remains the central amount at stake unless a court changes the outcome.
The Supreme Court has not been reported to have acted on Trump’s request. The next key step is whether the justices agree to review the case or leave the civil verdict in place.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
