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Key Points
- A US court has rejected Trump’s bid to overturn the $83m E Jean Carroll defamation damages award.
- Judges cited “remarkably high” reprehensibility in Trump’s repeated attacks on Carroll.
- Verdict adds to Trump’s growing legal troubles despite his claims of political bias.
A United States federal appeals court refused to throw out a multi-million dollar jury verdict against US President Donald Trump for damaging the reputation of writer E Jean Carroll in 2019 when he denied her rape claim.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected Trump’s argument that the January 2024 US$83.3 million ($126.3 million) verdict should be overturned because he deserved presidential immunity.
It also faulted Trump’s persistence in attacking Carroll, with attacks against the former Elle magazine columnist becoming “more extreme and frequent” as the trial approached.
“The record in this case supports the district court’s determination that the ‘degree of reprehensibility’ of Mr Trump’s conduct was remarkably high, perhaps unprecedented,” the unanimous three-judge panel said in its unsigned decision.
In May 2023, a separate jury determined that Trump was responsible for sexual abuse and defamation against Carroll, though not for rape, and granted her an award of US$5 million ($7.6 million). This decision was upheld by the appeals court in June.
Both verdicts are among a slew of legal woes Trump faced after leaving the White House in 2021.
The Republican denied all wrongdoing, and on the campaign trail, portrayed his courtroom battles as part of a Democratic-led plot to undermine his ultimately successful 2024 campaign.
Trump is appealing other courtroom losses, including his May 2024 criminal conviction for falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal, and a fraud finding in New York attorney general Letitia James’ civil lawsuit over his family business.
The appeals are ongoing, despite Trump receiving no prison time in the criminal case and persuading a New York state appeals court to overturn a roughly half-billion-dollar penalty in the civil case.
In a statement, Trump’s lawyers said: “President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he is focusing on his mission to Make America Great Again.”
Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said in a statement: “We look forward to an end to the appellate process so that justice will finally be done.”
Carroll, 81, accused Trump of attacking her around 1996 in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room.
Trump, 79, first denied her claim in June 2019, telling a reporter that Carroll was “not my type” and that she had fabricated the story to promote her memoir, What Do We Need Men For?
He essentially repeated his comments in an October 2022 Truth Social post, leading to the US$5 million ($7.6 million) verdict.
The more substantial award comprised US$18.3 million ($27.8 million) of damages for emotional and reputational harm, and US$65 million ($99 million) of punitive damages.
In the latest decision, the appeals court found the US$83.3 million ($126.3 million) award reasonable “in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts” of the case.
“The conduct here supports a significant punitive damages award,” the court wrote.
“It involved malice and deceit, caused severe emotional injury, and continued over at least a five-year period.”
