Federal Appeals Court Upholds $83M Defamation Award Against Trump

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an $83.3 million defamation verdict against President Donald Trump in the lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, rejecting his appeal that presidential immunity should shield him from liability. The unanimous three-judge panel found the jury's damages award, including $65 million in punitive damages, to be fair and reasonable in light of Trump's repeated defamatory statements against Carroll on social media and in public forums. This ruling affirms a previous separate $5 million verdict against Trump for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, both cases stemming from Carroll's accusations that Trump assaulted her in 1996 at a Manhattan department store. Trump had argued that a recent Supreme Court decision expanding presidential immunity barred the defamation judgment, but the appeals court rejected this claim, emphasizing that his comments were made with malice and not protected by immunity. Carroll's legal battles have drawn significant attention amid Trump's extensive legal and criminal record, including convictions unrelated to this case. Carroll has publicly shared news of the ruling without additional comment, while Trump's legal team has not responded to requests for comment on the appeals court decision.