The Supreme Court is set to consider President Trump’s petition to reconsider the verdict in a case involving E. Jean Carroll. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5 million.
The justices may consider the case as early as February 23, according to a report from SCOTUS Blog.
President Trump’s attorneys argued in a November filing to the Supreme Court that Carroll’s claims are a “politically motivated hoax.”
“President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this supposed incident ever occurred,” Trump attorney Justin Smith and his co-counsel wrote. “No physical or DNA evidence corroborates Carroll’s story. There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation.”
“Instead, 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 filing added. “Notably, Carroll’s allegations are a story that precisely matches the plotline from an episode of one of admittedly her favorite TV shows, ‘Law & Order.’”
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, filed a brief in opposition to President Trump, stating that the Supreme Court “would have no basis for disturbing the judgment.”
President Trump’s team filed another brief on Wednesday, arguing that it is “deeply damaging to the fabric of our Republic for President Trump, in the midst of a historic presidency, to have to take his focus away from his singular and unique duties as Chief Executive to continue fighting against decades-old, false allegations and the myriad wrongs throughout this baseless case.”
“This mistreatment of a President cannot be allowed to stand,” his attorneys wrote.
