Wafric News - June 13, 2025

Washington D.C. Bureau - U.S. President Donald Trump has lost another legal bid to overturn a $5 million judgment against him for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll — after a federal appeals court rejected his latest attempt to revisit the civil jury’s decision.

On Friday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s request for a full panel review, effectively upholding a previous ruling by a three-judge panel issued in December 2023. Trump’s legal team may now take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, though no formal filing has yet been made.

The lawsuit stems from allegations by Carroll, a former advice columnist, who accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in New York City during the 1990s. Trump, she said, later publicly denied the allegations, insulted her appearance, and accused her of inventing the story to sell books — actions a jury ruled were defamatory.

In May 2023, the jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million in damages — roughly $2 million for civil battery and nearly $3 million for defamation. The jury did not find Carroll’s rape allegation met the legal threshold for that specific charge but determined there was sufficient evidence of sexual misconduct to warrant civil liability.

Trump has consistently denied all wrongdoing and dismissed the lawsuit as politically motivated. “This verdict is a total disgrace,” he said following the ruling.

In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for Trump reiterated his position, describing the case as a “Democrat-funded hoax” and calling for an end to what he referred to as “witch hunts” against the former president.

Despite his objections, Carroll’s legal team welcomed the appellate court's decision.

“President Trump has now been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation by two separate juries,” said her attorney, Roberta Kaplan. “No matter how many appeals he files, that fact remains unchanged.”

The appeals court ruling was not unanimous. Two Trump-appointed judges, Steven Menashi and Michael Park, dissented from the majority, arguing that the jury had been improperly influenced by the inclusion of Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood recording — in which he boasts about grabbing women without consent — and other prior conduct.

“The result was a jury verdict based on impermissible character evidence and few reliable facts,” they wrote in their dissent.

Trump’s legal team now has the option to petition the U.S. Supreme Court, though it’s unclear whether the high court would agree to hear the case. Legal analysts say the rejection by the appeals court narrows Trump’s path to overturning the verdict.

As the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign intensifies, the Carroll case adds to Trump’s mounting legal challenges, which include multiple criminal indictments and ongoing civil investigations. Despite these hurdles, he remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination and has repeatedly framed the legal actions against him as part of a political vendetta.

For E. Jean Carroll and her supporters, however, the ruling marks another step toward accountability.

“This ruling affirms that no one is above the law,” said one women’s rights advocate in New York. “Not even a former president.”


By WafricNews Desk.