President Donald Trump lost another appeal in his ongoing battle against paying New York writer E. Jean Carroll an $83.3 million defamation judgment after denying he sexually assaulted her.
A federal appeals court based in New York refused Trump's request to have all of its judges hear his appeal, after a panel of three of its judges heard the case and upheld the $83.3 million judgment in September. That tees up a potential appeal from Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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The development marks the latest in an ongoing legal battle between Trump and Carroll that dates back to 2019 and includes two civil trials.
A New York federal jury awarded Carroll a $5 million judgment in 2023, after concluding Trump sexually abused her in a 1990s incident in a department store, and then defamed her when he denied it in 2022. Trump appealed that judgment, and is currently waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if it will hear the effort.
After that judgment, a separate New York federal jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in 2024 for defamation in two lengthy denials Trump made in 2019, when she first went public with her allegations. That's the decision that the full appeals court decided April 29 not to review.
The move means Trump may now also take his appeal of the $83.3 million judgment to the Supreme Court.
The White House directed USA TODAY to the president's personal counsel. A spokesperson for Trump's legal team said in a statement that the president will be appealing the decision.
"The American People stand with President Trump in demanding an immediate end to the unlawful, radical weaponization of our justice system, and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts," the spokesperson said. He also said Carroll's allegations are "Hoaxes" and "false claims."
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, said in a statement that her team is "pleased" by the decision.
"E. Jean Carroll is eager for this case, originally filed in 2019, to be over so that she can finally obtain justice," Kaplan said.
Trump posted a bond of about $92 million in 2024 to block Carroll from pursuing his assets to collect the $83.3 million before his appeal runs its course.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Next stop Supreme Court? Trump loses $83 million appeal in Carroll case
