Donald Trump to Appeal E. Jean Carroll Lawsuit: 'Travesty of Justice'

Donald Trump says he will appeal a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll after the Department of Justice (DOJ) ruled that the former president is not immune from liability in the case.

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump hit out at the "political witch hunt" against him after the DOJ announced he was not acting under the scope of office when he allegedly made defamatory statements in 2019 about the former Elle columnist while denying he sexually assaulted her.

These statements include suggesting the attack never occurred as Carroll is "not my type" and claiming she made up the assault to increase sales of her book.

The decision means the DOJ will not substitute itself as the defendant in the lawsuit, which would effectively end Carroll's case as the government cannot be sued for defamation. The former president must defend himself in the case and is at risk of being found liable for defaming Carroll once again.

Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice via its website for comment.

Trump has now described the decision as a "travesty of justice" and that he will appeal Carroll's lawsuit while once again claiming Carroll came forward with the abuse claims for publicity.

"The Carroll civil case against me is a Miscarriage of Justice and a total Scam. The trial was very unfair, with the other side being able to do and present virtually anything they wanted, and our side being largely and wrongfully shut down by an absolutely hostile, biased, and out of control judge. My lawyers, due to their respect for the Office of the President and the incredulity of the case, did not want me to testify, or even be at the trial," Trump wrote.

"The net result of this horrible INJUSTICE, where a completely unknown to me woman made up a ridiculous story, wrote it in a book to increase publicity and sales, I correctly disputed the story and got sued for Defamation, whereupon a hostile Judge and Jury shockingly awarded a woman who I don't know, have never known, and don't want to know, $5,000,000, while at the same time throwing out the Fake Rape claim. WE ARE STRONGLY APPEALING THIS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE!!!"

The defamation lawsuit, for which Carroll is seeking $10 million in damages, was filed in 2019 and is separate from his civil case. In May, a New York jury ruled that Trump was liable for sexually abusing Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room, then defaming her character while denying the accusations.

The DOJ under both the Trump and Biden administration previously stated that Trump was acting in his capacity as president when he denied the abuse allegations from Carroll in 2019.

However, in a letter to Trump's lawyers on Tuesday, the DOJ said that the recent decision from the New York jury in the civil trial shows that there is "prior history" between Carroll and Trump and that the former president's statements were not "sufficiently motivated by a purpose" to serve the government.

"A jury has now found that Mr. Trump sexually assaulted Ms. Carroll long before he became president. That history supports an inference that Mr. Trump was motivated by a 'personal grievance' stemming from events that occurred many years prior to Mr. Trump's presidency," the DOJ wrote.

In June, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Trump's attempt to have the 2019 Carroll lawsuit thrown out on the basis that his comments were protected under absolute presidential immunity.

"Mr Trump does not identify any connection between the allegedly defamatory content of his statements—that Ms Carroll fabricated her sexual assault accusation and did so for financial and personal gain—to any official responsibility of the president," Kaplan wrote in his ruling. "Nor can the court think of any."

One day after the jury ruled in favor of Carroll in her sexual battery and defamation suit, Trump appeared at a CNN town hall where he once again attacked and insulted Carroll as a "whack job," denied he ever met her and suggested the abuse claim was a "made-up story."

Carroll amended her defamation lawsuit to include the comments Trump made at the town hall in May.

Update 07/12/23, 9:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.