A federal appeals court docket in New York on Monday upheld the $83.3 million judgment imposed on President Donald Trump for defaming former journal columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019.
“Trump has did not establish any grounds that might warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity. We additionally conclude that the district court docket didn’t err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are honest and cheap,” the opinion mentioned.
Trump final yr was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll, a former Elle journal columnist, for defaming her in 2019 when he denied sexually abusing her within the dressing room of a Manhattan division retailer within the Nineties.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Courtroom of Appeals on Monday rejected Trump’s argument that he was entitled to presidential immunity when he made the statements about Carroll. The appellate court docket additionally rejected Trump’s argument the jury’s damages had been extreme.
The three-judge panel determined “Trump acted with, at a minimal, reckless disregard for the reality” when he known as Carroll a liar and mentioned she’s not his sort. The panel mentioned the $18.3 million the jury awarded Carroll in compensatory damages was honest.
“After Trump launched his statements, which had been considered by between 85.8 to 104 million individuals, Carroll was immediately and repeatedly attacked on Twitter and Fb and in emails. She obtained hundreds of such assaults, together with a whole bunch of loss of life threats,” the opinion mentioned.
President Donald Trump steps off Air Power One, September 7, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Pictures
The panel additionally rejected Trump’s argument the punitive harm award of $65 million was grossly extreme.
“There was ample proof that Trump was recklessly detached to Carroll’s well being and security,” the opinion mentioned. “Furthermore, Trump’s assaults towards Carroll weren’t remoted; slightly, they continued all through the pendency of the almost five-year litigation and have become extra excessive and frequent because the trial approached.”
In 2023, a jury in a separate trial discovered Trump responsible for the assault and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for battery and for defaming her in a 2022 social media submit by calling them “a Hoax and a lie.”
The identical court docket of appeals rejected his attraction of that judgment.
