Overview
- The Supreme Court on Monday denied President Trump’s rare petition for rehearing, ending his effort to overturn a 2023 jury finding that he sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll.
- Following the June denial, the $5 million verdict plus post-judgment interest—about $5.6 million—was disbursed to Carroll from a court-controlled account and is now final.
- A separate 2024 civil jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million for defamation, and that larger judgment remains pending at the Supreme Court where Trump’s appeal argues presidential immunity.
- The Justice Department has sought to substitute the United States as defendant under the Westfall Act in the $83.3 million case, a move that could moot the defamation claim because the government cannot be sued for defamation.
- The unresolved appeal forces the court to weigh how its 2024 expansion of presidential immunity in criminal cases applies to civil speech claims, a decision that could change when and how presidents face civil liability for statements.