The Supreme Court has redistributed a rehearing petition in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case against President Trump, marking the first request for reconsideration since 2018.
A federal jury previously found Trump liable and awarded Carroll tens of millions of dollars in the case, which was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The case centers on Carroll’s allegation that Trump assaulted her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in 1995 or 1996, which Trump has denied.
The Core Legal Question
Trump’s Supreme Court petition challenges whether the jury should have heard testimony from other accusers making decades-old allegations and the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, both admitted as “pattern evidence.” The central argument questions whether allowing such evidence violates rules designed to hold defendants liable for their specific actions rather than their character or similar unrelated claims.
Carroll’s own legal team conceded the case outcome might differ without the additional evidence. The rules of evidence exist to ensure defendants are held responsible for what they did, not for who they are or what others allege, according to legal principles underlying the U.S. justice system.
Funding Questions and Perjury Investigation
Carroll’s litigation was funded in part by Reid Hoffman, a LinkedIn billionaire and major Democratic donor, through a nonprofit called American Future Republic that funneled roughly $7 million to her lawyers. Carroll testified under oath in a 2022 deposition that no one else was paying her legal fees.
The Department of Justice is now investigating whether that testimony constituted perjury. A federal appeals court previously ruled Carroll had “plausibly forgotten” who was funding her legal representation.
The Evidence and Timeline
No police report exists from the alleged 1995 or 1996 incident, and no contemporary complaint was filed beyond two friends Carroll says she told. Bergdorf Goodman confirmed it does not retain security footage from that era.
The case was enabled by New York’s Adult Survivors Act, passed in 2022 and applied retroactively, which created a one-year window allowing the decades-old claim to proceed in court. A 2022 deposition produced one photograph showing Trump and Carroll together at a 1987 NBC charity event in a receiving line lasting five to six minutes.
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court’s decision to redistribute the rehearing petition signals the justices are examining the case. The parallel DOJ perjury investigation adds another legal dimension to the ongoing dispute.