Washington DC - President Donald Trump is now calling on the Supreme Court to step in and help him avoid paying a massive legal judgment he owes to writer E. Jean Carroll.
In January 2024, Carrol was awarded $83.3 million after she sued Trump for defamation for a second time, and he has been trying desperately to avoid having to pay up.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice submitted a filing asking a New York appeals court to pause its ruling on his appeal to the judgment so they can file a "writ of certiorari," which would force the court to hand over the case to the Supreme Court to review.
During Trump's first term in office, Carroll sued the president, alleging he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a department store in the 1990s.
In 2023, a jury determined that Trump had sexually abused and defamed Carroll, and he was ordered to pay her $5 million.
After losing the lawsuit, Trump publicly mocked Carroll, spawning a second lawsuit that led to another legal victory for Carroll.
Since taking office for his current term, the president has fought to appeal both cases.
Trump has also urged the Supreme Court to step in as he seeks to change the defendant of the case from himself to the US government, so that the court could rule he has presidential "immunity" that saves him from having to pay the judgments.