Trump Presidential Immunity Appeal Denied—Again—In E. Jean Carroll Case

Topline A federal appeals court in New York on Monday denied former President Donald Trump’s request to reconsider his claim of presidential immunity in his high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll—a claim he’s pursuing in multiple court cases that could land at the Supreme Court. Former President Donald Trump was denied his bid for presidential immunity in his defamation case .

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Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan declined on Monday to rehear Trump’s request to reconsider the matter of presidential immunity—an argument a president enjoys legal protection from lawsuits while in office and from actions during their time in office. No judge on the appeals court called for a vote on the request, according to a one-page ruling. The appeals court had initially rejected Trump’s presidential immunity claim last month, upholding a federal judge’s decision in August to deny Trump’s request, with the court arguing Trump “waived the defense of presidential immunity by failing to raise it” earlier in the case.

Forbes has reached out to Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, as well as Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, for comment. Trump has not appealed the case to the Supreme Court, though Habba previously indicated they would, and unless the Supreme Court takes up the case, the trial will start on Jan. 16.

Key Background Carroll’s case stems from an allegation Trump sexually abused her in the dressing room of a luxury department store in 1996, a claim Trump has denied. The upcoming trial follows a jury verdict last May that found Trump liable for defaming and sexually assaulting Carroll, with the author awarded nearly $5 million in damages. In the upcoming trial, a jury will decide whether Carroll should be awarded damages for Trump’s comments he made after that verdict, when he called the case a “complete con job” and claimed he did not know Carroll, as well as for statements he made in 2019 during his time as president, when he accused Carroll of fabricating her allegations against him to boost sales of her upcoming book.

Carroll is seeking at least $10 million in damages. Tangent Trump on Monday also argued a Georgia court should dismiss criminal charges over alleged election interference due to presidential immunity, even though other courts had previously rejected his bid for immunity. In a separate case, Department of Justice prosecutors asked the Supreme Court last month to decide “promptly” if presidential immunity would protect Trump in his federal election interference case, after Federal District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Trump’s request, saying he does not have the “divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.

” Jack Smith, the special counsel leading the federal investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, asked the high court last month if Trump is “absolutely immune” from prosecution over any crimes he committed while in office, following Trump’s claims the charges against him should be dropped because the substance of the allegations took place during his presidential term. Further Reading Court Denies Trump’s Presidential Immunity Appeal In E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case (Forbes) DOJ Takes Trump To Supreme Court: Asks Justices If Trump Has Immunity In Jan.

6 Criminal Case (Forbes).