Trump asked the 2nd Circuit on May 6 to stay its en banc denial in the Carroll defamation case, citing Westfall Act and immunity grounds ahead of a SCOTUS petition.
President Donald Trump filed a motion on May 6 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit asking the court to stay its order rejecting en banc rehearing in E. Jean Carroll's $83 million defamation case, preserving the status quo while he prepares a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court [1]. The motion targets two distinct legal questions: whether Trump is entitled to presidential immunity from the defamation claims, and whether the Westfall Act requires substituting the United States as the defendant in place of Trump, which his legal team contends would effectively nullify Carroll's claims [1].
The stay motion follows the 2nd Circuit's denial of Trump's petition for rehearing en banc, a ruling issued the week before the May 6 filing [1]. The underlying case, Carroll v. Trump, produced an $83 million jury verdict against Trump in a defamation trial in the Southern District of New York [1]. With en banc review exhausted at the appellate level, the 2nd Circuit is the final federal hurdle before Trump can seek Supreme Court intervention, and the requested stay would prevent the judgment from being enforced during that window [1].
The Westfall Act argument carries particular structural weight. The statute immunizes federal employees from personal tort liability for acts taken within the scope of their employment, substituting the government as the defendant [1]. Trump's legal team has argued that statements he made about Carroll, which Carroll characterized as defamatory, were made in his capacity as president and therefore fall within the Act's coverage [1]. If the Supreme Court accepts that framing, Carroll's claims against Trump personally would dissolve, as the government cannot be sued for defamation under the Federal Tort Claims Act [1]. Trump's attorneys characterized the prospects of Supreme Court review as strong, citing the unresolved nature of presidential immunity doctrine as applied to civil defamation suits [1].
The 2nd Circuit's response to the stay motion will determine the near-term procedural timeline. If the court denies the stay, Trump can seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court directly [1]. If granted, proceedings in the lower courts would pause pending the outcome of the certiorari petition. A Supreme Court decision to grant review would mark the first time the Court directly addresses whether the Westfall Act shields a sitting or former president from personal liability in a civil defamation suit stemming from statements made while in office [1].