DOJ plans to appeal Trump's E. Jean Carroll judgment to Supreme Court
The Justice Department said it intends to intervene in President Donald Trump’s appeal of an $83.3 million defamation judgment against him in the lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll and bring the case to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to consider another petition related to Carroll’s defamation cases against the president.
TL;DR
- The Justice Department plans to appeal President Trump's $83.3 million defamation judgment by E. Jean Carroll to the Supreme Court.
- The DOJ will argue that Trump's denials of the rape allegations in 2019 occurred within the scope of his job as president.
- This move seeks to invoke the Westfall Act, which transfers liability for federal employees' actions within their job scope to the government.
- Both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and a three-judge panel had previously denied Trump's appeal for immunity.
- The Supreme Court is also considering a separate petition from another defamation lawsuit where Trump was ordered to pay $5 million for comments made in 2022.