E. Jean Carroll lawyer 'pretty confident' SCOTUS won't 'bail out' Trump in sex abuse case

A lawyer for journalist E. Jean Carroll — who successfully sued President Donald Trump twice after he sexually abused her in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City and later defamed her — said that the Supreme Court "won't bail the president out" and he is likely to lose his next fight.

Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan told The Daily Beast Podcast that the justices are not likely to take the case requested by Trump. The president has asked to overturn a $5 million verdict that a jury awarded the journalist in May 2023.

“There’s nothing in that case that’s SCOTUS worthy,” Kaplan said.

Trump's attorneys have appealed the case citing evidentiary issues, "arguing that the district judge should not have allowed a woman to testify about Trump accosting and assaulting her on an airplane in 1979," The Beast reports.

Generally, the Supreme Court does not hear cases involving evidentiary questions, especially civil cases, Kaplan explained.

“Here, the Second Circuit concluded that even if the court had been incorrect in admitting her testimony, it’s what’s called ‘harmless error’ because we had another 10 or 11 witnesses, and they had zero,” Kaplan said.

It did not change the case's outcome, even if the testimony was admitted improperly.

“That’s why I’m pretty confident [the Supreme Court justices] won’t take it,” Kaplan said.

The $5 million in the first verdict is reportedly sitting in an account, accruing interest, and held by the court. Carroll will receive the money if the high court rejects the president's appeal.

The journalist plans to use a majority of money to donate to “everything Donald Trump hates,” including organizations that advocate for women’s reproductive rights and voting rights.