Breaking News: Supreme Court hands defeats to Trump in three cases
News and commentary from Florida for all Americans
By J.C. Bruce
Donald Trump is having a bad day, and he can blame the U.S. Supreme Court for that.
In a sequence of decisions, the high court:
Refused to hear Trump’s appeal in the E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse and defamation case, allowing the lower court verdict to stand.
Ruled that states may continue counting ballots that are postmarked by election day but arrive later but within an established grace period.
Declined to let Trump fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a major reversal for Trump’s efforts to exert more control over the independent central bank.
In the E. Jean Carroll case, a federal court jury had unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse of magazine columnist Carroll in the dressing room of a New York department store. The jury also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.
Trump appealed that decision and another one in which a jury also awarded defamation damages to Carroll, this time for $83.3 million. In both cases, the appeals courts upheld the lower court verdicts.
The Supreme Court has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for delaying a decision on the first case; the second case has yet to reach the court.
Now, Trump, barring some unforeseen legal development, must pay Carroll, and the decision by the Supremes raises real doubts about his ability to win his appeal on the second verdict, should he choose to continue to pursue that.
In the 5-4 ruling upholding states’ rights to accept mail-in ballots arriving after election day, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, noted that while the federal government sets the date of elections, it does not require states to reject ballots that arrive after that date. That’s up to the states to decide.
Trump had been counting on a favorable decision by the court on this case to give him more control over elections.
In yet another loss, the court said that while Trump has broad authority to hire and fire federal employees, that doesn’t apply to governors of the Federal Reserve.
Related:
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s push to toss $5 million verdict in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case
Live updates: Trump pushes back on Supreme Court losses over Fed firing and mailed ballots
Juries found Trump liable for defamation and sexual abuse, but he hasn’t paid one red cent
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J.C. Bruce
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