Appeals Court Upholds $83.3M Defamation Verdict Against Trump

A federal appeals court in Manhattan upheld an $83.3 million jury verdict against President Donald Trump for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, rejecting his attempt to overturn the verdict on grounds of presidential immunity. The ruling affirmed the trial judge's handling of the case and deemed the damages reasonable given the egregious facts surrounding Trump's repeated verbal attacks on Carroll after she accused him of assault in the 1990s. Trump argued that a 2024 Supreme Court decision granting him criminal immunity shielded him from civil liability, but the appeals court unanimously disagreed. The court also dismissed claims that Trump's comments were made in his official capacity as president, which would have provided immunity. Carroll had previously won a separate $5 million jury verdict against Trump for defamation and sexual assault related to similar accusations. She released a memoir detailing her legal battles against Trump, highlighting the ongoing public and legal scrutiny of the president's conduct.