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President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a jury verdict that found him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, his legal team confirmed Monday.
The petition marks the first time the long-running case has reached the nation’s highest court. Carroll has taken President Trump to trial twice, securing a total of $88.3 million in damages from two separate verdicts.
In 2023, a Manhattan jury found President Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a department store dressing room decades earlier and for defaming her when he publicly denied the allegation while serving as president. The jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million in damages.
According to The Hill, Trump’s new filing describes Carroll’s accusations as “facially implausible, politically motivated” and asks the justices to review several evidentiary rulings his attorneys claim “tainted the trial.”
“Carroll waited more than 20 years to falsely accuse Donald Trump, who she politically opposes, until after he became the 45th President, when she could maximize political injury to him and profit for herself,” the filing states.
Trump’s lawyers argue that jurors should not have been allowed to view a related video or hear testimony from other women who accused Trump of sexual assault. “The purpose was solely, and improperly, prejudicial,” the petition says.
An appeals court upheld the verdict in June by an 8-2 vote, rejecting Trump’s claims that the trial was unfair. While the Supreme Court rarely takes up cases to review lower court evidence rulings, Trump’s legal team contends that the issues in this case raise broader legal questions dividing lower courts.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the case represents “Liberal Lawfare” against the former president. “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” the statement read. “President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.”
The justices are expected to decide later this term whether to hear the appeal.
