A federal appeals court in New York has denied Donald Trump’s final attempt to delay his upcoming civil trial regarding rape allegations made against him by writer E. Jean Carroll. The former president now faces trial on January 16 in Manhattan federal district court, where the sole focus will be determining the amount of monetary damages he must pay. This article examines the court’s decision and its implications for Trump.
In 2019, E. Jean Carroll accused Donald Trump of raping her in the mid-1990s in a New York department store’s dressing room. Despite serving as the president at the time, Trump was not granted presidential immunity from Carroll’s defamation lawsuit. Last year, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that Trump’s statements were indeed defamatory, leading to a jury finding him civilly liable for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her. The jury ordered Trump to pay $5 million in damages, a decision that is currently being appealed.
Trump appealed Judge Kaplan’s ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In mid-December, a three-judge panel on the appeals court determined that Trump had waived his potential defense of presidential immunity by not raising the claim sooner. Undeterred, Trump filed a motion for a rehearing and requested an en banc proceeding, involving all the judges on the appeals circuit. On Wednesday, the 2nd Circuit denied Trump’s requests, providing no explanation, which is standard procedure.
While Trump can still try to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no guarantee that they will accept his case. If the Supreme Court declines to hear his appeal, Trump will be left with no further recourse in delaying the trial. CNBC reached out to lawyers representing both Trump and Carroll for comment on the court’s decision.
It is worth noting that Trump is separately arguing for presidential immunity from prosecution in federal court in Washington, D.C., concerning criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The federal appeals court in D.C. is currently considering this argument.
E. Jean Carroll maintains that Trump raped her during a chance encounter at a New York department store in the mid-1990s. Trump vehemently denies this allegation. The upcoming trial will focus solely on the defamation aspect of the case, determining the monetary damages Trump must pay to Carroll.
With the federal appeals court rejecting his last-ditch effort to delay the trial, Donald Trump is now one step closer to facing the civil trial for E. Jean Carroll’s rape allegations. The court’s decision signifies that the trial will proceed on January 16, solely addressing the issue of monetary damages. As the case unfolds, it remains uncertain whether Trump will attempt to take his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nevertheless, this rejection by the federal appeals court represents a significant moment in the ongoing legal battle between Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll.