Appeals court upholds $83 million judgment against Trump for defaming E. Jean Carroll

(NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court in New York on Monday upheld the $83.3 million judgment imposed on President Donald Trump for defaming former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in 2019.

“Trump has failed to identify any grounds that would warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity. We also conclude that the district court did not err in any of the challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and reasonable,” the opinion said.

Trump last year was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to Carroll, a former Elle magazine columnist, for defaming her in 2019 when he denied sexually abusing her in the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected Trump’s argument that he was entitled to presidential immunity when he made the statements about Carroll. The appellate court also rejected Trump’s argument the jury’s damages were excessive.

The three-judge panel decided “Trump acted with, at a minimum, reckless disregard for the truth” when he called Carroll a liar and said she’s not his type. The panel said the $18.3 million the jury awarded Carroll in compensatory damages was fair.

“After Trump released his statements, which were viewed by between 85.8 to 104 million people, Carroll was instantly and continuously attacked on Twitter and Facebook and in emails. She received thousands of such attacks, including hundreds of death threats,” the opinion said.

The panel also rejected Trump’s argument the punitive damage award of $65 million was grossly excessive.

“There was ample evidence that Trump was recklessly indifferent to Carroll’s health and safety,” the opinion said. “Moreover, Trump’s attacks against Carroll were not isolated; rather, they continued throughout the pendency of the nearly five-year litigation and became more extreme and frequent as the trial approached.”

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan. said in a statement following the ruling that the appeal court affirmed that “E. Jean Carroll was telling the truth, and that President Donald Trump was not.”

“The Court also upheld the $83.3 million award of damages because, among other things … she ‘was subjected to a multitude of death threats and other threats of physical injury,'” the statement said. “We look forward to an end to the appellate process so that justice will finally be done.”

In 2023, a jury in a separate trial found Trump liable for the attack and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages for battery and for defaming her in a 2022 social media post by calling them “a Hoax and a lie.”

The same court of appeals rejected his appeal of that judgment.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.