Trump asks Supreme Court to block $83M Carroll verdict

Trump and the Justice Department have asked the Supreme Court to overturn or block the $83.3 million defamation verdict against writer E. Jean Carroll, arguing his statements were an official act protected by presidential immunity. The filings cite the Westfall Act and a 2024 ruling that broadened presumptive immunity for official acts, but immunity for civil cases remains unsettled; the 2nd Circuit previously rejected extending immunity to civil matters. Carroll has two related suits, with a 2023 $5 million verdict for sexual abuse and defamation and a 2024 $83.3 million verdict for sexual abuse and defamation. The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will hear the current appeal, after previously declining to hear the $5 million appeal.