On Tuesday, July 28th, 2026, attorneys for President Donald Trump filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn a more than $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.

The petition challenges the ruling on the grounds of presidential immunity, citing the Supreme Court's landmark 2024 decision that protects most of a president's public communications. Trump's legal team contends that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals erred by upholding the judgment without deciding whether presidential immunity applied to Trump's allegedly defamatory statements made from the White House in 2019, in response to press questions denying allegations of personal misconduct.

The filing states, "This is the first case in our Nation’s history in which a court has imposed damages liability on a President for his conduct in office." It warns that if the decision stands, it could cause significant harm not only to President Trump and future presidents but also to "the Nation that the Presidency was designed to serve."

This petition follows a federal appeals court's rejection in April 2026 of Trump's request to rehear his appeal. Trump has indicated he will "continue the fight" after the Supreme Court declined to review a related abuse verdict involving Carroll.

Sources