Trump Loses Immunity Bid in Carroll Defamation Suit

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Image copyright: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images News via Getty Images (May 8, 2023)

The Facts

  • The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday upheld a federal judge's ruling that former Pres. Donald Trump can't claim presidential immunity in the defamation case against him brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

  • In 2019, while he was president, Trump responded to Carroll's accusation that he sexually assaulted her by saying her claim was "totally false" and calling her "a woman who has also accused other men of things."

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The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Trump should be able to invoke presidential immunity, regardless of how long it took for his defense to raise the issue. This is a flawed ruling, and SCOTUS must correct this wrong. Luckily, SCOTUS has been asked to take up a similar question in Trump's federal criminal case in Washington, so we'll soon find out if this political witch hunt against a former president and future Republican nominee can continue.

FOX News

Anti-Trump narrative

These are the legal ploys the twice-impeached, quadruple-indicted former president must enact to avoid accountability. Trump has committed so many crimes he can't possibly fight off all the charges. His current push to claim presidential immunity is not working out, and accountability is inevitable.

The Daily Beast

Metaculus Prediction