Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Carroll Verdict

Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a jury verdict ordering him to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3m in damages for defamation. The case stems from statements he made in 2019 denying Carroll's allegation that he raped her in the fitting room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

In the appeal, Trump's lawyers argue that the lower courts erred in ruling that he had waived his right to invoke presidential immunity. The Department of Justice filed a separate appeal, arguing that under federal law, the US government should be substituted as the defendant.

The appeal comes a month after the Supreme Court declined to review a separate verdict ordering Trump to pay Carroll $5m for sexual abuse and defamation arising from statements he made in 2022.

Trump's lawyers argue that the $83.3m defamation award is different because it relates to statements he made while in office, making presidential immunity a central issue. They contend that his responses to allegations about his fitness for office fell within the scope of his official presidential duties.

(Reuters, bak)