In May 2023, a jury found then-former President Donald Trump liable for defamation and sexual abuse against E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million in damages. In January 2024, a jury found Trump liable for defamation against Carroll regarding his remarks after the first verdict, and awarded her an additional $83.3 million in damages. Trump appealed the verdict and posted a $91.6 million bond.
In the beginning of his second term as POTUS, in April 2025, according to court documentation, “President Donald J. Trump and the government jointly moved to substitute the United States as a party to this appeal pursuant to the Westfall Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2679(d).”
[Note: The Westfall Act, which was passed by Congress in 1988, protects federal employees from common law tort lawsuits “while engaged in their duties for the government, while giving private citizens a route to seek damage from the government for violations.”]
Trump and the DOJ argue that “Trump was acting in the scope of his office or employment at the time the statements underlying this defamation action were made.”
Carroll opposed the motion, and in June 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, issued an order denying the motion.
Just a reminder:
Trump
keeps
losing
to
an
old
woman. pic.twitter.com/4chcrpjWl0— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) August 12, 2025
The Court wrote: “Specifically, we conclude that the motion is statutorily barred by the text of the Westfall Act, that both Trump and the government waived any right to now move for substitution by failing to timely petition the District Court, and that, in any event, principles of equity warrant denying the belated motion.”
On Tuesday, Carroll, 81, celebrated the appeals court decision by writing on social media: “Just a reminder: Trump keeps losing to an old woman.”
When MAGA social media influencer Scott Fishman responded to Carroll, “You still haven’t gotten a penny from him lmao,” Carroll replied, “But! I won both cases. He keeps losing his appeals. And I will beat him in the end.”
When another MAGA supporter suggested that Trump will bring the case to the Supreme Court, Carroll replied: “I don’t think the Supreme Court is EAGER to review a case about the President —a man found liable for sexual abuse by two juries, credibly accused of sexual assault by 23 women, and who is currently trying to cover up his wild nights with Epstein.”
Note: Trump won’t have to pay Carroll until the appeals process is over.