Trump asks appeals court to pause ruling in E. Jean Carroll case pending a Supreme Court decision

President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to pause its ruling rejecting his challenge to E. Jean Carroll’s $83 million defamation case against him as he looks to take the case to the Supreme Court. Trump asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to halt its ruling so he can present questions relating to presidential immunity and the Westfall Act to the high court. Carroll, a writer, won the damages after a federal jury decided that Trump defamed her when he repeatedly denied her accusation that he sexually abused her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1996. The federal appeals court issued a ruling last week rebuffing Trump’s request for a hearing by the full bench of judges, or an “en banc” hearing, to challenge the $83 million Carroll won in 2024. The ruling opened the way for Trump to petition the Supreme Court. Trump sought to invoke the Westfall Act to switch out his name as defendant and replace it with the United States. In a split vote, the majority denied the request to hear that challenge. The Westfall Act protects government employees from common lawsuits such as defamation while they are engaged in their official duties. Changing the defendant from Trump to the federal government would nullify Carroll’s defamation case, as the U.S. government cannot be sued for defamation. In Tuesday’s filing, Trump’s legal team wrote, “There is also a fair, in fact, strong, prospect that the Supreme Court will reverse the Panel’s Westfall Act decision.” The filing added that there is “a likelihood of irreparable harm” against Trump if the court does not temporarily block Carroll from collecting her $83 million award. Carroll’s legal team responded to the request within the court filing, writing that she does not oppose the motion as long as Trump raises the bond by $7.46 million to account for the post-judgment interest that would accrue during Supreme Court proceedings. Carroll’s legal team told NBC News on Wednesday evening that it could not comment on the matter further. Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Justice Department said in a separate filing in the case Tuesday that it will ask the Supreme Court to consider Trump’s argument. That filing, signed by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, said it finds “good cause” in Trump’s request to pause the 2nd Circuit’s ruling, as the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s ruling and allow Trump’s name to be removed as a defendant. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit first rejected an appeal from Trump that was based on presidential immunity in September. Trump also asked the high court to consider his appeal against a separate $5 million lawsuit from Carroll. Trump filed that appeal in November after a federal appeals court rejected his challenges to the lawsuit in June. The $5 million lawsuit focused on comments he made about Carroll after his first term ended, as well as the alleged assault itself. The $83 million lawsuit instead was centered on the disputes Trump made about Carroll’s accusation while he was president. Trump first began his public denials about Carroll in 2019, when he called her a liar, and he has characterized the claims against him as a “hoax” and a “con job.” Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, claimed that Carroll came forward with the accusation of sexual assault only to spur more sales of her upcoming book.