Former President Donald Trump’s legal team has petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene, aiming to prevent him from having to compensate E. Jean Carroll following a defamation case.
Trump’s attorneys contend that the comments he made about Carroll were issued during his tenure as president, thereby falling under the protection of presidential immunity.
Additionally, Trump seeks to halt any potential donation of the awarded funds to charity by Carroll, who has frequently expressed her intention to do so.
“Moreover, Carroll has consistently and publicly declared that any monetary compensation she receives from this lawsuit will be donated,” the court documents state.
“Should these donations be made and utilized by various organizations nationwide, the funds would likely become irretrievable if the Supreme Court ultimately overturns the panel’s decision, which remains a distinct possibility.”
The recent court filing requests that an appeals court delay its decision, pending the Supreme Court’s review of the matter.
In a highly unusual move, the Department of Justice has stepped in with the intention of arguing the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of the president.
Carroll’s defamation argument hinged on the president’s accusation that she wasn’t telling the truth when she came forward with her rape allegation.
In 2019, Trump denied ever knowing Carroll and said she “wasn’t his type”.
A jury found she was telling the truth when she alleged Trump raped her in the dressing room of a New York department store.
“She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, ‘swooned’ her,” Trump said afterwards.
“It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years.”
With a 6-3 conservative majority, including three judges the president has appointed himself, Trump is hoping the Supreme Court will be more sympathetic to his argument.
Trump’s move to involve the Supreme Court comes a week after the appeals court knocked back his move to substitute the United States as a replacement defendant in the case.
He is hoping the Supreme Court will reverse that decision.
Such a move would lead to the case being dismissed, because the United States cannot be sued for defamation.
