特朗普和美国司法部向最高法院提交请求，要求推翻曼哈顿陪审团在2024年1月做出的8300万美元诽谤赔偿裁决[1]。该裁决源于作家E·让·卡罗尔的诉讼，她在2019年的回忆录中公开指控特朗普在1996年春季于伯格道夫古德曼百货公司试衣间对她性骚扰[1]。
双方的主要论点围绕特朗普在担任总统期间发表言论的法律豁免权展开[1]。司法部援引《韦斯特法尔法案》，该法案旨在保护政府雇员在履行职务过程中免受诉讼[1]。特朗普的律师辩称，这将成为美国历史上首次对总统在职期间行为施加损害赔偿[1]。这已是特朗普第二次请求最高法院推翻针对卡罗尔案的赔偿判决，该院曾在6月拒绝审理针对另一份500万美元判决的上诉[1]。最高法院曾在两年前以前总统身份对特朗普授予广泛的刑事诉讼豁免权[1]。
Former President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice have asked the Supreme Court to overturn an $83 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll [1]. The pair argue that statements Trump made while serving as president should be shielded from civil liability under official immunity protections [1].
Carroll publicly accused Trump in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman department store in the spring of 1996 [1]. A Manhattan jury rendered the $83 million verdict in January 2024 [1]. This marks the second time Trump has sought Supreme Court intervention in Carroll-related defamation cases; the Court declined in June to review an earlier $5 million judgment against him [1].
The Justice Department invoked the Westfall Act, a statute that protects federal employees from litigation while performing official duties, in support of the petition [1]. Trump's legal team has characterized this as the first instance in American history in which monetary damages have been imposed on a sitting president for conduct during his tenure [1]. The Supreme Court previously granted Trump broad criminal immunity based on his former presidential status two years ago [1].