Donald Trump appeared before a federal appeals court in New York as he seeks to overturn the verdict in the $83.3 million lawsuit that found him liable for defaming journalist E. Jean Carroll.
The former president’s motorcade was seen arriving at the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Friday morning, where lawyers presented oral arguments before a three-judge panel, all of whom were appointed to the bench by Democratic presidents.
Dressed in his signature navy suit and bright red tie, Trump entered the courtroom, walking directly past Carroll, who was seated in the front row of the public gallery.
It is the first time the presidential candidate has appeared in court since his assassination attempt in July and security was tight with attendees having to pass through metal detectors on arrival.
All phones and other electronic devices were banned from the courtroom.
The Republican nominee is challenging the May 2023 verdict stemming from his alleged mid-1990s encounter with Carroll, who claimed Trump sexually assaulted her in the fitting room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store and then defamed her when he publicly denied her allegations.
Donald Trump appeared before a federal appeals court in New York on Friday to hear oral arguments in his attempt to overturn the verdict that found him liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll (pictured Friday)
Protesters holding signs reading “guilty,” “rapist” and “felon” gathered outside the federal appeals court in Manhattan on Friday ahead of the hearing.
His lawyers argue that the trial court erred by allowing certain evidence, such as the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard bragging about grabbing women’s genitals, as well as testimony from other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct decades ago.
In his two-minute rebuttal, Trump lawyer John Sauer called the case “a classic example of implausible allegations supported by highly incendiary and inadmissible evidence.”
He also reiterated Trump’s claims in his testimony that the presidential candidate “never even met” Carroll.
Addressing the panel, Sauer called the lawsuit a “quintessential ‘he said, she said’ case” that lacked “physical evidence,” “eyewitnesses” and police records.
Judge Denny Chin interrupted Sauer’s argument, noting that the type of evidence is difficult to overturn on appeal and asking why the verdict should be overturned.
Sauer questioned U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s decision to allow the Access Hollywood tape and testimony from Jessica Leeds, who accused Trump of groping her on a plane in the late 1970s, to be heard as evidence.
He also argued that the statute that would have deemed Trump’s alleged conduct a crime was not enacted until 15 years later.
But Judge Chin asked if Trump “put his hands up her skirt,” wouldn’t that count?
Sauer reiterated that the Leeds evidence should have been excluded.
Judge Chin pressed Sauer further about the Access Hollywood tape, saying it was a “confession about a modus operandi.”
Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, defended the evidence presented at the trial.
She insisted that Leeds’ testimony was admissible under a law that was in effect in 1979, so the incident would have been considered a crime, as the trial judge, Lewis Kaplan, concluded.
The lawyer also argued that Trump has a “pattern” of attacking women that begins with “having a pleasant conversation” with them before suddenly “attacking” and subsequently criticizing them when they accuse him.
A jury found Trump responsible for sexually assaulting Carroll, a journalist, at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s.
Jurors awarded the former Elle magazine advice columnist $2.02 million and $2.98 million respectively for her sexual assault and defamation claims.
Trump was separately found liable for defaming Carroll in a second trial in January this year, where a jury ordered him to pay her $83.3 million for defaming her and damaging her reputation in June 2019 after she first accused him of rape..
In their appeal, filed in November, Trump’s lawyers claimed he was unable to get a fair trial in New York. The former president claimed federal Judge Lewis Kaplan “erred” in rulings during the May 2023 trial that “violated President Trump’s rights.”
Judge Kaplan’s rulings were “flawed and prejudicial,” including allowing the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape to be played for the jury (Trump could be heard bragging about women’s private parts).
Former US President Donald Trump testifies as he takes the stand during the second civil trial in which E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her decades ago, at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, U.S., January 25, 2024.
The filing said: “The improper verdict in this case is a grave miscarriage of justice, supported by political operatives who have long opposed President Trump and his policies, based on false and unsubstantiated claims.”
In other legal documents, Trump’s lawyers said the attack on Carroll “never happened.”
He accused her of making the claims because of her “significant political bias against him” and of “turning her accusations against (Trump) into a lifestyle and seeking to monetize her accusations as much as possible.”
Rather than being harmed by the allegations, Carroll’s standing has been enhanced by her media interviews, Trump’s lawyers said.
Trump is also appealing the $83 million judgment, but a date for oral arguments has not yet been set.
The former president is set to be sentenced on September 18 in a New York state court for falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump was found guilty on all 34 charges earlier this year after a highly successful trial.
He also faces a $450 million fine after losing a civil fraud case brought by New York state prosecutors and two potential criminal trials in Washington and Atlanta over election interference.
None of the trials are scheduled to take place before the election.
A judge recently dismissed a third criminal case in Florida involving the mishandling of classified documents. His decision is being appealed by prosecutors.
Trump denies all allegations.