President Donald Trump is urging the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million jury verdict for defamation, arguing that as president, he is immune from the litigation. The appeal relies on the court’s 2024 decision granting the president wide immunity for actions taken in office.
Background
The case involves statements Trump made against magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019, which a jury found were defamatory. Trump has denied wrongdoing and claims that Carroll made up the allegations to boost sales of a book.
The Justice Department has signaled that it will intervene to effectively take over the case under the Westfall Act, which shields individual federal employees from tort suits for actions taken while they were engaged with their official duties.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
