E. Jean Carroll: Appeals Court Upholds $83.3 Million Defamation Payout Against President Trump

President Donald Trump has suffered a major legal blow after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling directing him to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault and defamation.

Despite occupying the Oval Office, President Trump had banked on a July Supreme Court ruling which granted him immunity from prosecution for official acts carried out during his earlier presidential term. His legal team argued that the same protection should shield him from a federal jury’s verdict requiring him to compensate Carroll over defamatory remarks.

But court documents obtained by PulseNets revealed that Trump’s lawyers claimed the earlier ruling “gravely undermines the presidency and stands as a miscarriage of justice.” In response, Carroll’s legal counsel, Roberta Kaplan, pressed the appellate judges to uphold the damages, stressing that “the president, like every citizen, remains subject to the rule of law.”

After reviewing arguments from both sides, the three-judge panel of the appellate court—all appointed under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden—delivered a unanimous decision against Trump. PulseNets learnt that the court flatly dismissed his immunity defense, ruling there was no fresh basis to overturn the prior judgment.

The panel stated in its ruling: “President Trump has not demonstrated any grounds for us to reconsider our prior holding on presidential immunity. Furthermore, we find no error in the district court’s rulings and affirm that the jury’s damages award is both fair and reasonable.”

This outcome marks a resounding legal victory for Carroll and a striking setback for the sitting president.

Carroll first alleged that Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump, who has repeatedly denied the claim, dismissed her accusation with scathing remarks, insisting she invented the story to sell more books and sneering that her memoir “belongs in the fiction section.”

Also Read: E. Jean Carroll, US Attorney General Approves Trump’s Move to Federalize Washington Police

PulseNets reported that Carroll went on to file separate defamation suits after Trump doubled down with further attacks following the 2020 election. She also revived a sexual assault claim under a newly enacted New York law, which reopened the statute of limitations on previously time-barred rape and harassment cases.

For Carroll, Monday’s ruling is a defining moment. As her legal team told PulseNets, it reaffirms that “the presidency is powerful, but never untouchable.”