Scoop: Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn $83M judgment for E. Jean Carroll

President Trump's lawyers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment he was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll, Axios has learned.

• The judgment stemmed from Trump's 2019 statements in which he denied Carroll's claim that he'd sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and attacked her credibility, accusing her of making up the allegation.

Driving the news: Trump's lawyers argue he's entitled to presidential immunity because he made the comments while he was serving as president in response to reporters' questions, which centered on his fitness for office.

State of play: Trump's lawyers unsuccessfully appealed the $83.3 million judgment to the federal appeals court in the 2nd Circuit.

• Now, in their filing to the Supreme Court, the president's team is arguing that the appeals court never decided whether presidential immunity applied in the case, and that the appeal was rejected on procedural grounds.
• They argue that if the ruling stands, it will constitutionally weaken future presidents by exposing them to liability for statements made while in office.

The backstory: Carroll, a New York writer, in 2019 accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump denied it, setting off years of litigation.

• In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll and for defaming her in statements he made in 2022, awarding her $5 million.
• In January 2024, a different jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million for Trump's 2019 statements.

What to watch: The Supreme Court is dealing with Carroll-related litigation for the second time in two months.

• In June, the court declined to hear Trump's appeal of the $5 million verdict.
• Trump's team has asked the court to reconsider that judgment.

Axios has reached out to Carroll's legal team for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.