Summer Zervos speaks as her attorney Gloria Allred looks on during a news conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake – RC12FB15AF20
President Trump’s actions during his “Apprentice” days will be center stage in a New York courtroom Tuesday afternoon as lawyers for the 45th commander-in-chief push to dismiss a defamation claim by a former contestant on his reality T.V. show.
Summer Zervos accused then-candidate Trump of sexually harassing her during her stint on “The Apprentice” in 2007.
Zervos says Trump “very aggressively” kissed her, groped her breasts and began “thrusting” his genitals at her during a meeting in The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Trump responded to the claims via Twitter and accused her – and about a dozen others accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior – of lying. He called the allegations “nonsense,” “lies” “phony” and “100 percent fabricated.”
Zervos, a restaurant owner from Huntington Beach, Calif., contends that Trump’s denials of her accusations have hurt her credibility and crippled her ability to make a living. She is being represented by Gloria Allred.
The suit also asks that Trump’s team hand over “all documents concerning any woman who asserted that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.”
Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, maintains Zervos’ suit is politically motivated, her accusations are false and that her case should be dismissed. He also argued that Trump’s statements are protected by the First Amendment because they were delivered in a political context. Trump’s team also argues the U.S. Constitution bars civil lawsuits in a state court against a sitting president.
However, legal experts say Trump’s attorneys may have unwittingly played into the hands of the defense.
If the New York Supreme Court allows the case to proceed, Zervos’ lawyers could force Trump to testify publicly or make other uncomfortable incidents from the president’s past very public.
That tactic – going after misleading sworn testimony – was ultimately used against former President Bill Clinton and it was those statements that led to his eventual impeachment.
Joseph Cammarata, who represented Paula Jones against Clinton, told The Washington Post that the legal maneuver “opens (Trump) up to have to answer questions about sexual relations, other relationships, what might have been said, to open up your whole life.”
