Appeals court won't let Justice Department step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll's $83M verdict

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

06/18/25 4:18 PM ET


A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday refused the Justice Department’s effort to put itself on the hook for an $83.3 million defamation award advice columnist E. Jean Carroll won at trial from President Trump. It’s the latest setback for the president in his efforts to fight Carroll’s lawsuits at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week, the 2nd Circuit upheld her earlier $5 million jury award.

On Wednesday, the three-judge panel denied the Justice Department’s request to replace Trump as the defendant in Carroll’s defamation lawsuit under the Westfall Act, a 1988 law that protects federal employees from certain lawsuits concerning things they did in the course of their jobs.

The Justice Department contended Trump’s denials of Carroll’s sexual assault claims in a written statement and comments he made on the White House South Lawn in 2019 — the basis of her suit — were made within the scope of Trump’s employment as president.

“The Court will issue an opinion detailing its reasoning in due course,” reads the 2nd Circuit’s one-page order rejecting the effort without further explanation.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5357924-trump-carroll-defamation-case-appeal-denied/

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This is her OTHER case.

Previous case REFERENCE - Trump fails to overturn $5m damages award to E Jean Carroll for defamation

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca2.e508a4b2-feae-4592-a6dc-d30f9ed35bb6/gov.uscourts.ca2.e508a4b2-feae-4592-a6dc-d30f9ed35bb6.124.0_1.pdf

[barbtries]

1. are you fucking kidding me.

they tried to stick taxpayers with that depraved rapist's bill.

motherfuckers. they'll probably take it all the way to the SC and we will be stuck.

#MassiveTaxRevolt #TaxationWithoutRepresentation

[Deuxcents]

2. So..if I'm understanding..the Justice Department wants to take the monetary fall for TSF and in the end..

The taxpayers pay his judgment? Someone please explain this legalese to me

[mdbl]

3. It's called DickTater justice.

Steal from the poor to cover your crimes.

[JoseBalow]

5. Par for the course for deadbeat drumpf

He doesn't think he should ever pay for anything himself.

[BattleRow]

6. Trades scruples for rubles.

[FakeNoose]

11. I'm guessing the plan was to default and pay her nothing ... after all this time

I can't see any reason why Uncle Sam and the US taxpayers should be stuck with this.

[Diraven]

12. It's unlikely she'll ever get paid

Trump and at least for now the DOJ can tie this up in court until they're both dead of old age.

[Marthe48]

4. felon needs to bail himself out

he's had too many people cover his ass his whole life. Leave the peoples' money alone. If he can't afford to pay for his crimes, then stop committing crimes. Don't expect the public to clean up after you.

[Bayard]

7. I am not a lawyer, and don't play one one TV,

But, he committed the original crime long before he was in the White House. He lost that case, and this case is directly related to the first case. I don't see how Justice figures they should be involved. Well, other than trump is ordering them to jump in.

[Ilsa]

8. MFer supposedly made $600 million last year.

He can't afford to pay her but instead gets the Justice Dept (us) to volunteer to pay it? Outrageous.

[Miles Archer]

9. HE...RAPED...HER.

He's LUCKY he's being hit for DEFAMATION charges and NOT BEHIND BARS for committing the ACTUAL CRIME.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

10. How long before SCOTUS lets Trump off the hook and puts taxpayers on it?

[riversedge]

13. Trumpy's Justic Department is run by Trumpets!!

[Torchlight]

14. The rapist wants us to pay for his crime

And I'm quite certain a sizable bit of the population is fine excusing their obeisance to his felonies, assaults, fraud, and bankruptcies as just a form of intelligence we can't understand... 'cause we're not smart. Like they are.