Donald Trump’s legal team filed a motion late Tuesday, May 5, 2026, requesting a stay of the $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll. The filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit signals Trump’s intent to seek Supreme Court review based on presidential immunity.
According to Fox News and MS NOW, the request aims to prevent the execution of the judgment while the high court considers whether Trump is immune from civil claims arising from statements made during his first term. Carroll’s legal team does not oppose the stay provided Trump increases his bond by approximately $7.46 million to cover post-judgment interest.
The defense argues that the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling regarding criminal immunity supports their position in this civil matter. Legal counsel Justin Smith emphasized that the petition will address whether absolute immunity for official acts can be waived and the timeliness of Westfall Act certifications.
“This Court should now stay the mandate to allow President Trump to present important questions relating to, without limitation, Presidential immunity and the Westfall Act to the Supreme Court,” stated Justin Smith, Presidential Lawyer.
Smith, who was recently nominated by Trump for a federal judgeship, noted that the legal challenge seeks to resolve whether the president’s protections act as a shield against personal liability for actions taken while in office.
“Carroll does not oppose this motion,” Smith added.
The Westfall Act, cited in the Tuesday filing, generally protects federal employees from personal lawsuits for torts committed during their official duties. Trump’s attorneys maintain that there is a significant chance the Supreme Court will reverse lower court decisions that found these protections were waived.
“Absent a stay, President Trump will suffer ongoing irreparable harm due to violation of his right to immunity from this defamation suit for his official statements as President of the United States of America,” Smith argued.
In a separate pending petition, Trump is also challenging a $5 million award from a 2023 trial where a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. He contends that the trial judge improperly admitted the “Access Hollywood” tape and other evidence.
“President Trump respectfully asks the Court to stay the mandate until the Supreme Court’s final disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari,” the filing stated.
The defense suggests that proceeding with the judgment before the high court’s review would undermine the concept of immunity and create difficulties in recovering funds if the decision is eventually overturned.
“There is a ‘fair prospect’ that the Supreme Court will reverse the Panel’s erroneous decisions that Presidential immunity and the Westfall Act were both waived,” Trump’s lawyers continued.
The filing asserts that allowing lower court proceedings to move forward would have detrimental effects on the legal principles recognized by the nation’s highest court.
“Issuing the mandate and permitting lower court proceedings to move forward during Supreme Court review of these significant questions would ‘eviscerate the immunity [the Supreme Court has] recognized,’ as well as create a likely inability to recover funds if the Supreme Court reverses, as it should,” Trump’s lawyers stated.
The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled a conference for the new filing, but the next opportunity for the justices to consider the existing $5 million case petition is May 14.
