Donald Trump has failed to overturn an $83 million defamation verdict against New York writer E.Jean Carroll, who accused the president of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.
In a double blow to the president, a federal appeals court on Monday also rejected Trump’s view that he deserved presidential immunity from the case, saying that he “failed to identify any grounds that would warrant” such a thing.
“The jury’s duly rendered damages awards were reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts of this case,” a three-judge panel wrote in a unanimous opinion.
Trump has spent more than 18 months fighting the decision, which was handed down in January 2024 after a civil jury found him liable for defaming Carroll over claims that he attacked her in the lingerie dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman, an upmarket department store not far from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.
The case was the first time Trump—who has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by more than two dozen women since the 1970s—had been held accountable in court for his alleged treatment of women. He has denied every allegation.
Trump consistently denied attacking Carroll, too, insisting that he was the victim of a political witch hunt.
He also accused her of concocting a “hoax” after she went public with her claim in 2019, repeatedly calling her a liar and declaring “she’s not my type.”
The 81-year-old Carroll was ultimately awarded $83.3 million in damages for defamation, in addition to $5 million she had been separately awarded after another jury found Trump liable for the sexual assault claims.
In trying to overthrow the $83.3 million verdict, Trump had argued that judgment was both excessive and invalid following a Supreme Court decision last year that expanded his presidential immunity.
However, the panel from the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held that Trump “has failed to identify any grounds that would warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity.”
“We are not persuaded,” the judges wrote.
The court also ruled that a lower federal court “did not err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable.”
Carroll in July rejected claims the lawsuit was politically motivated and even said she wanted to give away the millions she was awarded against Trump to “p--- him off”.
“From the minute I spoke up, I was labelled as a gold digger, a liar, a dangerous woman, a floozy, a woman out for money, et cetera,” Carroll told CNN‘s Pamela Brown at the time.
“The last thing I care about is money. The first thing I care about is knowing the truth.
“That’s why I’m giving away the $80.3 million,” she added. “I don’t care about money. I want to use it to p--- him off.”
The White House declined to comment, referring the matter to Trump’s personal lawyers.
