Trump, in his Supreme Court petition, calls the Carroll judgment the first in U.S. history to impose damages on a president for conduct in office
Donald TrumpPresident of the United States, petitioner, in a petition filed by his lawyers
Trump's petition says the Carroll case is the first in which a court has imposed damages liability on a president for conduct in office, and asks the Court to hold that his 2019 statements were official acts protected by presidential immunity.
Responding to
Trump's June 2019 statements denying E. Jean Carroll's allegation, made from the White House in response to press questions, were official acts protected by presidential immunity, and he never forfeited or waived that immunity.
“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.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Trump asks the Supreme Court to overturn E. Jean Carroll's $83.3 million defamation verdict on immunity grounds; Carroll says he waived that defense
Trump and the Justice Department ask the Supreme Court to review the $83.3 million judgment over his 2019 statements about E. Jean Carroll, citing presidential immunity and the Westfall Act. Carroll says Trump gave up his immunity defense years ago.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
President Trump's petition, filed by his lawyers at Sullivan & Cromwell, asking the Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit's decision upholding the $83.3 million defamation judgment in E. Jean Carroll's first lawsuit. It presents three questions: whether Trump forfeited or waived presidential immunity, whether his 2019 statements denying her allegation were official acts, and whether the United States should have been substituted as defendant under the Westfall Act.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The petition's questions presented ask whether a president can be found to have forfeited or waived presidential immunity without expressly renouncing it, and whether a sitting president's public statements denying allegations of wrongdoing, made from the White House in response to press inquiries, are official acts.
After the quotation
The petition goes on to say that the Second Circuit upheld the $83.3 million judgment without deciding whether presidential immunity applies to the statements, and that the court engaged in procedural contortions to avoid the question.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Trump's June 2019 statements denying Carroll's allegation, which a jury found defamatory, and his bid to escape the $83.3 million judgment for them through presidential immunity or substitution of the United States as defendant. The petition treats the statements as conduct in office shielded by presidential immunity and asks the Court to set aside the judgment, a defense of the statements against liability.
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- People and groups discussed
- E. Jean Carroll
More from this case
Read the full caseE. Jean Carroll, in her Supreme Court brief, says the Court should not bail Trump out of the consequences of his litigation choices
“Nor should this Court grant certiorari to bail out this President from the consequences of his repeated litigation choices.”Read statement
The Justice Department tells the Supreme Court that Trump's 2019 statements about Carroll were plainly within the scope of his office
United States Department of Justice
“The error is especially egregious because, on the merits, President Trump's conduct was plainly within the scope of his office.”Read statement
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- Trump, in his Supreme Court petition, calls the Carroll judgment the first in U.S. history to impose damages on a president for conduct in office
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The Dispute Index. "Trump, in his Supreme Court petition, calls the Carroll judgment the first in U.S. history to impose damages on a president for conduct in office". First published: 2026-11-03. Last updated: 2026-11-03. https://disputeindex.com/events/7896-trump-s-petition-says-the-carroll-case-is