The Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday tossed disgraced former President Trump’s bid for a full bench review of his bullshit “presidential immunity” claim to dodge the damages-only trial he’s facing in rape victim EJ Carroll’s long-running federal defamation lawsuit against him, set to kick off on January 15th if the Supreme Court doesn’t halt it, Politico’s Kyle Cheney reports.
A brief recap in case this is all confusing as shit: Last May a federal trial jury found in favor of Carroll’s claim that Trump had defamed and sexually abused her – with the judge later also finding that Trump had committed rape. The trial took place in federal court but was tried under New York State law, so for all intents and purposes it was still a state-level civil case. This upcoming one, to be tried in front of the same judge, Lewis Kaplan, is strictly a federal one hence the federal appeals process. It’s also damages-only, as Kaplan in September ruled that all of Carroll’s claims had been proven factually, so the jury will be seated for the sole purpose of determining damages.
…if the Supreme Court denies Trump certiorari. Which they probably will.