Former President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice separately petitioned the Supreme Court on July 28, 2026, seeking to overturn an $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll [1, 2, 3].

The judgment stems from Trump's 2019 public statements denying Carroll's claim that he sexually assaulted her during the mid-1990s at a New York department store dressing room [1, 2, 3]. Trump's lawyers contend he enjoys presidential immunity from the defamation claim because the remarks were made while he was in office [1, 2, 3].

The Department of Justice argues it should have been allowed to substitute the United States government as the defendant under the Westfall Act, which would have resulted in dismissal because the statements were made during Trump's presidency [1].

A federal jury in Manhattan originally awarded Carroll $83.3 million in January 2024 for defamation related to the 2019 statements, including $18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages [3]. A judge ordered Trump to pay the full amount in March 2024 [3].

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $83.3 million award but rejected Trump's appeal on procedural grounds without addressing the immunity defense [1, 2, 3]. Trump's petition states, "This is the first case in our Nation’s history in which a court has imposed damages liability on a President for his conduct in office" and criticized the Second Circuit for never deciding whether presidential immunity applies, even as the statements were made from the White House denying allegations "directly questioning his fitness for office" [1, 3]. The petition warned that allowing the judgment to stand could cause "significant damage, not only to this President and future Presidents, but also to 'the Nation that the Presidency was designed to serve'" [3].

In a related case, Carroll won a separate $5 million verdict in May 2023 for sexual abuse and defamation linked to statements Trump made in 2022. Trump has paid that verdict plus interest [1, 2, 3]. The Supreme Court declined in June 2026 to hear Trump's appeal of that $5 million award, though Trump has asked the Court to reconsider [1, 2].

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to take up the petitions challenging the $83.3 million defamation judgment.