A federal appeals court in New York has upheld an $83.3 million judgment against President Donald Trump for defaming former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s arguments that he was entitled to presidential immunity and that the damages awarded by the jury were excessive. The court ruled that the jury’s compensatory and punitive damages were “fair and reasonable.”
Trump was found to have defamed Carroll after he publicly denied sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s and called her a liar.
The appellate court noted that Trump’s statements were seen by an estimated 85.8 to 104 million people and led to repeated attacks on Carroll online, including hundreds of death threats.
The court concluded that Trump acted with “at a minimum, reckless disregard for the truth” and that the $18.3 million in compensatory damages awarded to Carroll was appropriate. The $65 million in punitive damages was also upheld.
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, praised the ruling, saying it affirmed that Carroll “was telling the truth, and that President Trump was not.” She added that the appellate process should soon conclude so that “justice will finally be done.”
In a separate 2023 trial, a jury had also found Trump liable for battery and defamation related to a 2022 social media post, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages. That judgment was similarly upheld on appeal.
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