Donald Trump argues he shouldn’t have to pay rape accuser because he is president
Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to intervene so he does not have to pay nearly $120 million to the woman he is accused of raping.
Trump argued that as president, he should be immune from liability in the case.
A jury found that Donald Trump raped E Jean Carroll in a New York department store. AP Photo/Alex Brandon
E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a New York department store in the mid-1990s.
When he claimed she was lying, she sued him for defamation.
A New York jury concluded that Trump did rape Carroll and awarded her $119 million in damages.
In the appeal to the Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers pointed out the unprecedented nature of the case.
“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,” the filing read, according to a New York Times report.
While the sexual abuse took place before Trump’s first term, and the trial took place after it, his denial happened when he was president.
Trump has been fighting through the appeals court to avoid paying Carroll any of the money she was awarded.
Last September an appeals court found the $119 million award to be “reasonable in light of the extraordinary and egregious facts of this case”.
Trump’s lawyers have argued a previous Supreme Court case gave the president sweeping immunity.
E Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump for defamation after he said she made up a rape accusation against him. AP
That landmark ruling determined that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official acts.
His lawyers will need to argue that Trump’s denial of the rape accusations and his criticisms of Carroll constituted an official presidential act.
When accused of rape, Trump said Carroll had made up the accusation to sell her memoir. He described her claims as a “hoax” and a “con job”.
In 2019, Trump denied ever knowing Carroll and said she “wasn’t his type”.
But when presented with a photograph of Trump speaking with Carroll, he mistook her as his former wife Marla Maples.
Donald Trump (far left) speaks to E Jean Carroll (second from left) in 1987. The president claimed he had never met her. Supplied
Because the statute of limitations for a sexual assault charge had passed, Carroll sued him in civil court and won.
The Supreme Court had previously rejected a push from Trump to throw out another finding on the case.
The case has been in courts for seven years.
Trump had previously sought to prevent Carroll receiving any payout because of her stated intention to give the money to charity.
His lawyers argued that if Carroll gave the money away, it would be impossible for the money to be recouped if Trump won on appeal.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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