Trump Seeks Supreme Court Review of $83.3 Million Defamation Verdict

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn an $83.3 million defamation award issued against him in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll.

Trump’s filing on Tuesday asks the justices to nullify the jury’s award. His lawyers argue that a 2024 Supreme Court decision, which granted presidents immunity for actions taken while in office, should shield him from liability in the case, according to The New York Times.

Lawyers for the Justice Department also requested Supreme Court review of the case, The New York Times reported.

This new petition is distinct from Trump's prior appeal concerning a $5 million judgment in a separate sexual abuse and defamation case brought by Carroll. The Supreme Court denied that earlier petition for review on June 29. Trump has since filed a petition for rehearing in that $5 million case.

In other developments at the Supreme Court, justices on Tuesday denied requests for a stay of execution from James Aren Duckett and Dominick Occhicone. Both men were executed in Florida the same day.

Separately, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to facilitate the full implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting. States challenging the order must submit a response by 4 p.m. EDT on Monday.

In related news, a federal appellate panel on Tuesday declined to block Trump’s mail-in voting order in a separate case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s three-judge panel upheld a May ruling. U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols had ruled that an injunction against the order was premature because the Trump administration had not yet issued formal regulations governing it. The D.C. Circuit panel stated that if the administration attempted to force changes before November's midterm election, courts might intervene.

Concerning tariffs, President Trump stated in a Tuesday interview that new tariffs implemented by his administration are functionally similar to those the Supreme Court struck down earlier this year. He referred to the recent 10% to 12.5% tariffs imposed last week on goods from over 80 countries, citing failures by those trade partners to prohibit forced labor.

The Trump administration will not seek a rehearing in the Supreme Court case that struck down President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The deadline for filing a petition for rehearing, July 27, passed without the administration filing such a brief, despite Trump’s earlier indications of intent to do so.