Supreme Court Rejects Trump’s Appeal in E. Jean Carroll Case for Second Time

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to appeal the verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation case on Monday.

Source: cdnph.upi.com

This decision marks the second time this summer that the high court has rejected Trump’s bid to rehear the case. Trump sought to have the case reheard in hopes of avoiding paying Carroll $5 million plus interest for sexually abusing and defaming her.

The case revolves around allegations that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in a New York City department store in 1996. While the assault did not meet New York’s legal definition of rape, the judge presiding over the case clarified that by the common understanding of the word Trump did in fact rape Carroll.

Trump was also found liable for defaming Carroll in comments he made about her on social media. Carroll was allowed to bring the sexual abuse complaint to court due to a New York state law enacted in 2022, the Adult Survivors Act. The law allowed victims of sexual offenses to file civil suits over incidents that would otherwise be outside the statute of limitations. They were given one year to file these lawsuits, between November 2022 and November 2023.

Trump’s legal team argues that he should be immune from legal liability for statements made as president because the court broadened presidential immunity in 2024. However, this argument has been rejected by the Supreme Court, which has now twice refused to rehear the case.

In a separate decision, Trump has been ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million in a decision by a Manhattan civil court in 2024. Trump has also appealed this judgment and it remains pending with the Supreme Court.

It is rare for the Supreme Court to rehear a case. The court’s rules say it may only rehear a case when substantial ‘intervening circumstances’ arise. In this case, the court did not give a reason or note any dissenting opinions by the justices.