Trump asks appeals court to pause E. Jean Carroll defamation ruling while he seeks Supreme Court review
The Facts
- Trump asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause its ruling in E. Jean Carroll's defamation case while he seeks review from the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The 2nd Circuit had declined to rehear Trump's challenge, including his arguments about immunity and substituting the United States as the defendant.
- A jury awarded Carroll about $83 million in 2024 after finding Trump defamed her by denying her accusation that he sexually abused her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
- Trump's filing says he wants to present questions to the Supreme Court involving presidential immunity and the Westfall Act.
- If the stay is granted, it would delay Carroll's ability to collect the defamation judgment while Trump pursues further appeal.
- The Justice Department has said it plans to ask the Supreme Court to substitute the United States for Trump in the case, arguing he was acting as a government employee when he made the statements at issue.
- Whether the Supreme Court will take the case, and whether Trump must pay or post additional security while that process unfolds, remains unresolved.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- A stay would have immediate practical consequences, because it would postpone collection of a jury-awarded defamation judgment while higher courts decide unresolved questions about immunity, substitution of the United States, and what payment obligations apply during any further appeal.
- They split on
- Whether the story is chiefly about a private plaintiff being kept from collecting a judgment already won, or about ensuring presidential-immunity and Westfall Act questions are fully resolved before collection and payment are compelled.
Context
What did Trump ask the appeals court to do?
He asked the 2nd Circuit to stay, or pause, its ruling so he can seek Supreme Court review without Carroll immediately moving to collect the $83 million defamation judgment ABC News,Newsweek,NBC 7 San Diego.
Why is the Westfall Act part of this case?
Trump and the Justice Department argue that his 2019 statements about Carroll were made within the scope of his federal employment, so the United States should be substituted as the defendant under the Westfall Act theepochtimes.com,Washington Times. Several reports note that this substitution issue is one of the questions Trump wants to press at the Supreme Court Fox News,NBC 7 San Diego.
What has already happened in Carroll's cases against Trump?
A Manhattan jury awarded Carroll about $83 million in January 2024 in the defamation case now at issue U.S. News & World R…,WHAS 11 Louisville. Separate reporting also notes that another jury in 2023 awarded Carroll $5 million after concluding Trump sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her after she went public with her account U.S. News & World R…,SCMP.
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