Major Takeaways

• A federal appeals court upheld the $83 million defamation verdict against Donald Trump, rejecting claims of presidential immunity.

• The court ruled Trump’s statements about Carroll were reckless and caused widespread harassment and threats against her.

• Carroll has now won two separate cases against Trump, totaling over $88 million in damages.

Federal Court Upholds $83 Million Defamation Verdict Against Donald Trump

A federal appeals court has upheld the massive $83 million defamation verdict against former President Donald Trump, shutting down his attempt to overturn the judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll.

Trump’s lawyers argued the case should have been thrown out, claiming it caused “severe damage to the presidency” and was a “miscarriage of justice.” But Carroll’s attorneys countered with the bigger picture: no one, not even a sitting president, is above the law.

The verdict stems from a 2019 defamation case, where Trump repeatedly denied Carroll’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. In those denials, Trump went further — calling Carroll a liar, mocking her appearance, and saying she “wasn’t his type.”

A jury in Manhattan hit Trump with $83.3 million in January 2024 after finding that his words had fueled waves of online hate, harassment, and even death threats toward Carroll. And because New York slaps a 9% annual interest rate on judgments, the amount Trump owes keeps climbing.

In its ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Trump had no legal grounds to re-argue presidential immunity. The three-judge panel was blunt, writing: “Trump acted with, at a minimum, reckless disregard for the truth.”

The judges also pointed out the scale of the damage: Trump’s words reached more than 85 million people, triggering what Carroll’s lawyers described as “instant and continuous” attacks online.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, said her client is relieved the case is finally nearing an end and that “justice will finally be done.”

This is not Trump’s only legal loss to Carroll. In May 2023, a separate jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in a different lawsuit — awarding Carroll an additional $5 million.

Trump, for his part, still denies everything, calling Carroll’s claims a hoax and insisting she fabricated her story for book sales. But with this ruling, Trump’s legal options are narrowing, and the price tag for his attacks is only getting higher.