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president Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a jury’s civil verdict that he sexually assaulted and later defamed former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Trump’s lawyers argued in a filing that the allegations that led to the $5 million verdict were “supported” by a “series of untenable evidentiary rulings” that allowed Carroll’s lawyers to present “highly inflammatory evidence” against him.
“President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this alleged incident ever occurred,” Justin Smith, one of Trump’s lawyers, and his co-counsel wrote in the filing, according to The Associated Press. “No physical or DNA evidence corroborates Carroll’s story. There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence and no police report or investigation.”
Carroll sued Trump twice after she published a book in 2019 that alleged Trump raped her during a brief encounter in a department store dressing room New York City in the 1990s. Trump strenuously denied the claims, saying he had never met Carroll, that she was not his “type” and that she made up the incident to sell books. His loud and repeated criticisms and denials led to Carroll’s defamation allegations.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT CONFIRMS $83.3 MILLION E. JEAN CARROLL VERDICT AGAINST TRUMP
E. Jean Carroll attends Equality Now’s Make Equality Reality Gala at Cipriani 25 Broadway on October 14, 2025 in New York City. At right, President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on October 20, 2025 in Washington, DC (Evan agostini/invision/ap; kevin dietsch/getty images)
Trump’s lawyers accused trial judge Lewis A. Kaplan of bending federal rules of evidence to support Carroll’s “uncredible, baseless claims.” They also said that by upholding the ruling the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was in conflict with other federal appeals courts over how to apply such rules.
When Trump’s lawyers first announced in September that they would appeal to the Supreme Court, Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan said, “We do not believe that President Trump can raise legal issues in the Carroll cases that merit review by the United States Supreme Court,” the AP reported.
A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told the AP that the Supreme Court’s appeal was part of the president’s crusade against “liberal lawfare.”
“The American people stand with President Trump and demand an immediate end to all witch hunts, including the Democrat-sponsored travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” the statement said.
TRUMP ARGUES SCHUMER MADE A MISTAKE IN THE DEMOCRATIC LEADER’S PARTY BATTLES
E. Jean Carroll leaves court after her trial in Manhattan Federal Court on May 8, 2023 in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
An appellate panel of three judges confirmed the verdict in December 2024 and rejected Trump’s claims that Kaplan’s decisions had tainted the process. Then in June, 2nd Circuit judges rejected Trump’s petition so that the entire appeals court can hear the case. That left Trump with two options: either accept the outcome and allow Carroll to collect the judgment, which he had previously placed in escrow, or continue fighting in the Supreme Court.
Trump skipped the trial in 2023 but testified briefly last year at a follow-up defamation trial that ended with a jury ordering him to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea on Oct. 29, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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The 2nd Circuit affirmed that verdict on September 8, with a three-judge panel calling the jury’s damages award “fair and reasonable.” Trump has since asked the full appeals court to hear the arguments and reconsider the ruling.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.