Appeals court denies Trump's claim of presidential immunity in E Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit
Appeals court denies Trump's immunity claim in E Jean Carroll defamation suit, allowing the civil lawsuit to proceed
The use of presidential immunity by Donald Trump to dismiss a civil defamation lawsuit from former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll was rejected by a federal appeals court. The judges determined that Trump had waived his right to use presidential immunity as a defense by not bringing it up earlier in the litigation. This was in response to Carroll's claim that Trump had defamed her when, as president, he denied her allegations of sexual assault. The appeals court also upheld the lower court's decision to reject Trump's motion for summary judgment.
The court ruled that the question of whether presidential immunity is waivable has been answered in the affirmative. Donald J. Trump was found to have waived the defense of presidential immunity by not raising it in his answer to E. Jean Carroll's complaint. The trial is scheduled for January.
"We are glad that the Second Circuit has upheld Judge Kaplan's rulings and that we can proceed to trial on January 16," stated Carrolls lawyer, Robbie Kaplan.
Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, stated, "The ruling of the Second Circuit is fundamentally flawed and we will be seeking immediate review from the Supreme Court."
Carroll had previously filed two separate lawsuits against Trump in 2022 under the Adult Survivors Act for sexual assault and defamation. The jury found Trump liable and ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. A separate lawsuit filed by Carroll in 2019, involving similar statements made by Trump while he was president, is scheduled to go to trial in January for damages.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
