On May 28, the Department of Justice launched a criminal probe into E. Jean Carroll, a journalist whom President Trump sexually abused in the mid-1990s. The probe is intended to investigate whether Carroll committed perjury during her testimony in two civil lawsuits against Trump. The first case, Carroll I, pertains to his assault of Carroll in a New York department store in 1996 and the second, Carroll II, concerns Trump’s subsequent defamation of Carroll in 2019 as he denied the assault claims.
While media sources have continued to refer to Carroll as an ‘accuser’ such categorization attempts to skirt reality – E. Jean Carroll was sexually abused and defamed by President Trump, as found by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Trump’s guilt is not up for debate. Trump’s has already attempted to apply presidential immunity in the Second Circuit’s review of the defamation case. This is a standard established in Trump’s favor by the Supreme Court two years ago in Trump v. United States. The Second Circuit rejected this attempt, maintaining that the President waived the use of presidential immunity by not bringing it up earlier in the litigation proceedings.
Even as Trump attempts to abuse the powers of his office, it is increasingly clear that not all Americans lend credibility to his version of events. A recent poll by The Economist and YouGov found that 46% of those surveyed believe E. Jean Carroll is telling the truth, compared to only 27% who believe Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of the Second Circuit’s review, they upheld the District Court’s decision to award Carroll $5 million in the sexual abuse case and $83.3 million in the defamation suit.
In response, Trump has repeatedly appealed the first suit to the Supreme Court, promising to do the same with the latter. The Supreme Court has deferred the President’s appeal twelve times, the most recent deferral occurring on May 27th.
In the event the Supreme Court ultimately hears the President’s petition, it is unclear whether they will reconsider Trump’s presidential immunity defense or lend credence to his attempt to implement the Westfall Act. This legislation would swap the Department of Justice in as the defendant, making the case moot as the United States government cannot be sued for defamation.
However, until the Supreme Court takes action by reviewing the case or declining to hear it, the Second Circuit has paused Trump’s $83.3 million payment. Caroll has not objected to the pause, on the condition that Trump increases the bond by $7.46 million, bringing the total amount the President owes in the defamation suit to $91 million.
While Andrew Boutros, the top federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Illinois, has denied media reports that his office opened this investigation into E. Jean Carroll, there is a clear financial incentive for President Trump to challenge the lower court rulings in an attempt to avoid payment.
These attacks on Carroll function to further harass a woman who dared to speak the truth. In a political environment intent on silencing and invalidating survivors, Carroll’s refusal to succumb to those in power encourages us to adopt her strength and resilience as we support those who have been sexually abused. It is only through ensuring accountability and the application of justice that we can obtain a higher standard of character from our leaders in government.