“The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes.”
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear President Donald Trump’s appeal of a New York federal jury’s verdict that awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million after the jury found him civilly liable for the sexual abuse of the writer.
The Supreme Court did not explain its reasoning for not taking up Trump’s appeal. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said on Monday, “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” per CNN.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll,” Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said in a statement.
“His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions."
Trump pushed back on the decision on Truth Social vowing to continuing to battle against the case.
"I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength," he wrote. "This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for, and should never be allowed to happen to another President, or Candidate to be!"
https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/2071633028997144873?s=20
Carroll originally sued Trump in 2019 for defamation then sued him again in 2022 for defamation and battery after New York state where she lives ennacted a law that allows victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits for previous incidents.
Carroll's 2022 suit against Trump alleged that he sexually assaulted her in a New York department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and later defamed her by claiming she fabricated the allegations to boost book sales and gain publicity. Carroll was awarded $5 million by the jury. Interestingly, the 2019 defamation case went to trial second and resulted in a much larger $83.3 million award after jurors found Trump repeatedly defamed Carroll through statements he made while president and after leaving office. The two verdicts together left Trump facing more than $88 million in damages, although he has continued to deny the allegations and has pursued multiple appeals in an effort to overturn both jury decisions.
The President's legal team railed against the decision in a January statment to the Supreme Court.
“It is deeply damaging to the fabric of our republic for President Trump, in the midst of a historic presidency, to have to take his focus away from his singular and unique duties as chief executive to continue fighting against decades-old, false allegations and the myriad wrongs throughout this baseless case," they said.
The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the case does not represent a ruling on the merits of Trump's appeal. Rather, it means fewer than four justices voted to take up the case, which allowed the lower court's ruling to remain in effect. Throughout both cases, Trump has maintained that Carroll's allegations are false and has consistently denied ever sexually assaulting her. His attorneys argued the trial included evidence that unfairly prejudiced the jury and argued the verdict should be overturned. Carroll, on her part, has argued the verdicts in her favor show accountability after years of public attacks on her character.
Monday's order marks the end of Trump's appeal in the $5 million case, leaving the jury's original verdict intact. However, legal proceedings surrounding the separate $83.3 million defamation judgment are expected to continue as Trump pursues additional appeals in that case.
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