FIRST ON FOX — Attorneys for President Donald Trump filed a petition Tuesday to toss the more than $83.3 million judgment in the defamation case brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
"This is the first case in our Nation’s history in which a court has imposed damages liability on a President for his conduct in office," the filing states. "Yet, in upholding the exorbitant $83.3 million defamation judgment here, the Second Circuit never even decided whether Presidential immunity applies to President Trump’s allegedly defamatory statements — statements made from the White House, in response to press questions, denying allegations of personal misconduct directly questioning his fitness for office."
"Indeed, the Second Circuit refused to apply Presidential immunity even after this Court recognized that 'most of a President’s public communications are likely to fall comfortably within' that protection," the filing continued, citing the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on presidential immunity in 2024.
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The petition went on to argue, "If left standing, the decision below will cause significant damage, not only to this President and future Presidents, but also to 'the Nation that the Presidency was designed to serve.'
"As this Court has recognized, it 'would seriously cripple the proper and effective administration of' government if Presidents feared that their official acts could result in damages liability ... That is why immunity for official Presidential acts is necessary."
Trump is being represented by Robert J. Giuffra, co-chairman of Sullivan and Cromwell, and Michael C. Martinich-Sauter of the James Otis Law Group.
A representative for Carroll's legal team declined to comment but cited the Second Circuit's decision upholding the judgment.
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The filing comes after a federal appeals court rejected Trump's request to rehear his appeal in April.
Carroll, who claimed Trump sexually assaulted her at a department store in the 1990s, sued Trump for defamation for comments he made in 2019, vigorously denying her allegations.
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A federal jury in New York City decided in 2023 that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The former president was ordered to pay $5 million in that trial.
In January 2024, a federal jury decided that Trump must pay Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages. A judge ordered Trump to pay the $83.3 million that March.
