In one of several things that would have ended the career of most politicians but failed to prevent Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, Trump had a civil verdict go against him in 2019 for both defaming and sexually abusing magazine writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1980s.
On Monday, a federal appeals court upheld Carroll’s award of $83.3 million from the defamation side of the case. This is not to be confused with the other Carroll case, which went to trial in 2023 and ended with a verdict that Trump had sexually abused Carroll (although it did not find that he had raped her).
Per the New York Times, the court “also rejected Mr. Trump’s argument that the Supreme Court’s decision last year affording presidential immunity for official acts barred a finding of liability in Ms. Carroll’s lawsuit.”
The three-judge panel ruled unanimously in the case.
BREAKING:
A federal appeals court just rejected Trump’s bid to overturn the jury verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 million for defaming E. Jean Carroll.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 8, 2025
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The panel found that Trump’s side “has failed to identify any grounds that would warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity.” They added that the lower court “did not err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable.”
Per CNN, Trump’s lawyers have signaled that they would ask the Supreme Court to overturn the verdict in Carroll’s other case.
Carroll herself shared a news story about the ruling:
— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) September 8, 2025
Social media users had a lot to say about the news in the Carroll case:
NEWS: A federal appeals court has upheld the $83.3M judgment against Trump for defaming E. Jean Carroll, rejecting his immunity claim and noting he acted with “reckless disregard for the truth.” pic.twitter.com/SlA8Ax5Hwx
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 8, 2025
BREAKING: An appeals court upholds E. Jean Carroll’s $83 million judgment against Donald Trump, saying that Presidential immunity does not shield him form liability for the heinous actions he took against Carroll.
Repeat after me: Trump is a rapist! pic.twitter.com/tKjjpVwEwr
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) September 8, 2025
BREAKING: In a devastating blow to Trump, a federal appeals court just REJECTED Trump’s bid to throw out the jury verdict ordering him to pay $83.3 MILLION for defaming E. Jean Carroll.
Trump must pay her every penny. pic.twitter.com/wrpkHHMxlw
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary) (@MAGALieTracker) September 8, 2025
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
