Trump asks Supreme Court to toss E. Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict

President Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to toss a jury’s verdict finding him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s, according to the president's personal legal team.

Carroll has taken Trump to trial twice and won a total of $88.3 million in damages, and the petition marks the first time the long-running litigation has reached the justices. 

In 2023, the first jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s and defaming her by denying her story when she came forward during Trump’s first presidency. The jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million. 

Trump’s 33-page Supreme Court petition calls Carroll’s sexual assault claims “facially implausible, politically motivated allegations” and urges the justices to get involved to reverse several evidentiary rulings over claims it tainted the trial.

The petition has not yet been publicly docketed, but The Hill reviewed a copy provided by Trump’s legal team. 

“Carroll waited more than 20 years to falsely accuse Donald Trump, who she politically opposes, until after he became the 45th President, when she could maximize political injury to him and profit for herself,” the petition reads. 

Trump contends the jury improperly saw the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape and testimony from other women who accused Trump of sexual assault, which he denies.

“The purpose was solely, and improperly, prejudicial,” Trump’s lawyers wrote of the tape's introduction. 

A midlevel appeals court rejected the claims in an 8-2 ruling in June.

The Supreme Court generally does not take up cases purely for error correction, but Trump's lawyers contend the evidentiary rulings implicate several legal questions that have divided the lower courts.

The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Carroll for comment. 

“The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” a spokesman for Trump’s legal team said in a statement. “President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.” 

The justices are poised to review Trump's request to hear the case at a closed-door conference later this term.

A judge ruled the jury's verdict made Trump automatically liable in Carroll’s separate lawsuit, which brought additional defamation claims. Carroll took Trump to trial again, and that jury went on to award her $83.3 million. It has not yet reached the Supreme Court.