Trump Attempts to Postpone $83 Million Appeal in E. Jean Carroll Case

On Friday, legal representatives for both the Justice Department and former President Donald Trump filed a request with a New York federal appeals court. They seek to reschedule the imminent oral arguments concerning Trump's appeal against an $83 million defamation ruling.

In this case, Trump is challenging a 2024 decision that mandates him to compensate ex-magazine journalist E. Jean Carroll. The ruling came after he denied allegations in 2019 of an alleged sexual assault occurring in the mid-90s in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room. Trump maintains his stance of total innocence regarding these accusations.

Challenges to DOJ Representation in Trump's Appeal

Earlier in the week, a panel composed of three judges from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the government could not stand in for Trump as a litigant in this case. Consequently, Trump's attorneys insist on the necessity to challenge this decision prior to the oral arguments slated for June 24.

"Both the United States and President Trump are deserving of an urgent reconsideration of the panel's incorrect ruling under the Westfall Act, which if needed, should be escalated to the Supreme Court," argued a collective submission by Trump's team and the Justice Department last Friday.

Legal Interpretation of Presidential Conduct

Lawyers for the DOJ argue that certain behaviors by Trump, tied to his presidential duties, entitle the department to provide his legal defense. The assertion is that an Attorney General’s declaration verifies Trump's actions in 2017, emanating from his official capacity at the White House, as foundational to the claims made by Carroll.

Their position is that, under these certifications, the United States should have been officially replaced as the defendant rather than Trump himself.

Just last week, the 2nd Circuit additionally upheld a different $5 million monetary award to Carroll which Trump is obligated to pay.