Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, has initiated an appeal against the $83.3 million defamation judgment from the E. Jean Carroll case.
Reuters reported that Trump’s appeal was filed with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Carroll has publicly accused Trump of defamation following her allegations of rape from decades past, leading to a jury ruling on January 26 in her favour.
To support his appeal, which challenges the Manhattan jury’s June 2019 decision that found Trump had defamed Carroll by rejecting her mid-1990s rape claim, Trump secured a $91.63 million bond through Federal Insurance Co.
The jury awarded Carroll $18.3 million in compensatory damages—$11 million for damage to her reputation and $7.3 million for emotional distress—and $65 million in punitive damages. Trump’s defence argues for complete exoneration or substantially reducing these amounts.
Furthermore, Trump is contesting a separate $454.2 million civil fraud verdict, proposing a $100 million bond despite New York Attorney General Letitia James’ insistence on covering the full judgment.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding over Carroll’s trial, has yet to decide on Trump’s requests for a retrial and a reduction in damages.
Trump’s attorneys argue that excluding evidence of Trump’s mindset and alleged flaws in jury instructions regarding malice influenced the trial’s outcome.
The appeal could extend over several years, considering the ages of Trump and Carroll, both in their 70s.
