Simply too late: 2nd Circuit explains why it rejected Trump request to put taxpayers on the hook in E. Jean Carroll case

Source: Law & Crime

Aug 8th, 2025, 3:40 pm


A federal appellate court finally made good on a promise to explain why it handed President Donald Trump a huge loss in the long-running defamation case brought — and won — by writer E. Jean Carroll.

In late June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit tersely rebuked an effort to have the public pay for Trump's appeal of the $83 million judgment in Carroll's favor. The three-judge panel rejected a claim under the Westfall Act of 1988, a law that can force the U.S. Department of Justice to step into the shoes of government officials sued for torts committed within the scope of their official duties.

"The Court will issue an opinion detailing its reasoning in due course," Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin, a Barack Obama appointee, along with U.S. Circuit Judges Sarah Merriam and Maria Araújo Kahn, both Joe Biden appointees, promised on June 18. Now, nearly two months later, the panel explained its reasoning in a 23-page per curiam opinion. The nix here is mostly a matter of time.

To hear the court tell it, the Westfall Act itself "statutorily" bars the claims because they were filed after trial, Trump and the government "both waived their rights" by filing for such relief at the wrong time, and "in any event, principles of equity warrant denying the belated motion" and affirming Carroll's victory against Trump himself.

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/simply-too-late-2nd-circuit-explains-why-it-rejected-trump-request-to-put-taxpayers-on-the-hook-in-e-jean-carroll-case/