Trump Petitions Supreme Court to Overturn Carroll Defamation Judgment

Donald Trump petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States on July 28, 2026, seeking to overturn an $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll. His legal team argues the judgment is invalid under a 2024 Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, claiming the defamatory statements made in 2019 were official presidential acts. The $83.3 million award includes $65 million in punitive damages and $18.3 million in compensatory damages.

Simultaneously, Trump filed court documents accusing Carroll of a $5.62 million "bait-and-switch" regarding a previous judgment payout. He alleges that funds promised to be held in an interest-bearing account were instead moved into a personal investment account for Carroll's retirement. Trump's lawyers argue that investing the money in the S&P 500 exposes the assets to market losses and asks an appeals court to order the funds returned to a court-controlled account.

The legal challenge follows an April decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reject Trump's request for a rehearing. The United States Department of Justice has also asked the Supreme Court to take up the case. Carroll's legal team maintains the $5.62 million remains intact and argues that a rehearing petition does not justify clawing back a collected judgment. Total civil verdicts against Trump over seven years have reached $88.3 million.