Appeals court refuses to toss verdict in E. Jean Carroll case

He has sought to overturn the verdict on a number of grounds, but has yet to succeed.

By Ben Whedon

Published: September 8, 2025 10:32am

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday refused to toss the jury verdict against President Donald Trump in writer E. Jean Carroll's civil battery and defamation case.

Trump had argued that the 2024 Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity rendered him immune to the suit, a claim that the appeals court rejected, according to Reuters.

Carroll previously scored an $83.3 million jury award over Trump's 2019 denials of her claims that he raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman's dressing room.

The jury did not find that Trump had raped Carroll, but did hold him liable for defamation and battery. He has sought to overturn the verdict on a number of grounds, but has yet to succeed.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.