THE GUARDIAN: Federal appeals court refused to throw out verdict against president for damaging reputation of writer in 2019
Donald Trump now cannot claim presidential immunity to get off the hook from paying $83.3m in damages to the writer E Jean Carroll, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday, upholding a jury’s 2024 award against the president for defamation.
Trump’s lawyers had pointed to the supreme court’s ruling last year saying the president has immunity for official acts to argue that the damages should be overturned. A three-judge panel for the US court of appeals for the second circuit, rejected that argument.
“The jury’s duly rendered damages awards were reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts of this case,” the judges wrote in their unanimous opinion. The panel consisted of judges Denny Chin, an appointee of Barack Obama, as well as Sarah AL Merriam and Maria Araújo Kahn, both appointees of Joe Biden. Their decision was unanimous. » | Sam Levine and agencies | Monday, September 8, 2025
