Appeals court to Trump: No presidential immunity in E. Jean Carroll defamation suit
Donald Trump won't be able to claim presidential immunity as he fights a defamation case tied to his denial of sexual assault allegations while he was in office, an appeals court ruled.
Aysha Bagchi- Ruling addresses second defamation case from E. Jean Carroll tied to sexual assault allegations.
- Trump attorney calls ruling "fundamentally flawed," pledges to continue fighting.
Donald Trump can't point to his time in the White House in an effort to duck a civil defamation lawsuit tied to sexual assault allegations because he waited too long to claim presidential immunity, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The case concerns Trump's denial in 2019, while he was president, of having sexually assaulted journalist and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s. In June of that year, Trump described Carroll as “a woman who has also accused other men of things," and called her account "a totally false accusation."
In a separate civil case, Trump was ordered in May to pay Carroll $5 million after a jury found both that he sexually abused her, and had defamed her through a 2022 statement denying the assault. Trump has appealed that verdict.
The former president argued that it's impossible to waive presidential immunity because courts don't have the power to hear a case when the immunity applies. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, said the Supreme Court has previously indicated presidential immunity should be treated like other forms of immunity, which can be waived.
"The Second Circuit’s ruling is fundamentally flawed and we will continue to pursue justice and appropriate resolution,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement.
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What is the presidential immunity defense?
The presidential immunity defense protects presidents from having to pay damages for actions that were within the outer limits of their official responsibilities.
The appeals court concluded Wednesday that Trump's yearslong delay in raising the immunity defense unfairly prevented Carroll from asking for details and documents concerning whether Trump's actions fell within his official presidential duties. As a result, it said the New York federal court that denied Trump's request to bring in the defense hadn't abused its discretion.
Robbie Kaplan, an attorney for Carroll, said she was pleased with the ruling and their ability to move forward to trial. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has ruled the trial will only address damages because the jury verdict on defamation in the separate case will carry over.
Trump has also appealed a ruling that presidential immunity doesn't protect him in a criminal case alleging he unlawfully interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has asked the Supreme Court to leapfrog a federal appeals court and address the issue quickly.
Carroll's "Ask E. Jean" advice column appeared in Elle magazine from 1993 through 2019. In June 2019, she alleged in an article published in New York magazine that Trump had sexually assaulted her inside a fitting room at the Bergdorf-Goodman department store in late 1995 or early 1996.