Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jul 30
Sullivan & Cromwell Joins Trump Bid to Void $83.3 Million Carroll Verdict
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jul 30

Sullivan & Cromwell Joins Trump Bid to Void $83.3 Million Carroll Verdict

3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jul 30

Summary

  • Sullivan & Cromwell has joined Donald Trump’s Supreme Court push to overturn the $83.3 million defamation award E. Jean Carroll won in January 2024, reversing an earlier decision to stay out of the case.
  • The appeal argues Trump cannot be personally liable for 2019 statements made while president, with Trump and the Justice Department saying the Westfall Act and presidential immunity should shield him.
  • The Wall Street Journal said co-chair Robert Giuffra had told partners the firm would not take the case, but that changed after intervention by longtime Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn.
  • George Conway and attorney Catherine Cullen publicly attacked the firm’s move, while the payout remains paused as the Supreme Court decides whether to hear Trump’s appeal.
  • The court already declined in June to hear Trump’s appeal of a separate $5 million Carroll verdict, which found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

Insights

Why did Sullivan & Cromwell reverse course and join Trump’s bid to erase the $83.3 million Carroll verdict?