Appeals court won't let Justice Department step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll's $83M verdict [View all]

Source: The Hill

06/18/25 4:18 PM ET


A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday refused the Justice Department’s effort to put itself on the hook for an $83.3 million defamation award advice columnist E. Jean Carroll won at trial from President Trump. It’s the latest setback for the president in his efforts to fight Carroll’s lawsuits at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week, the 2nd Circuit upheld her earlier $5 million jury award.

On Wednesday, the three-judge panel denied the Justice Department’s request to replace Trump as the defendant in Carroll’s defamation lawsuit under the Westfall Act, a 1988 law that protects federal employees from certain lawsuits concerning things they did in the course of their jobs.

The Justice Department contended Trump’s denials of Carroll’s sexual assault claims in a written statement and comments he made on the White House South Lawn in 2019 — the basis of her suit — were made within the scope of Trump’s employment as president.

“The Court will issue an opinion detailing its reasoning in due course,” reads the 2nd Circuit’s one-page order rejecting the effort without further explanation.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5357924-trump-carroll-defamation-case-appeal-denied/