Donald Trump: Summer Zervos sexual harassment claims could cost president
THE US President says a TV contestant who accused him of harassment is a liar. She is now suing for defamation in a case that could have huge ramifications.
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A DEFAMATION lawsuit against United State President Donald Trump could come back to bite in more ways than one.
Summer Zervosfiled a defamation lawsuit against Mr Trump after he dismissed her claims of sexual harassment as “fabricated and made-up charges”.
Ms Zervos, a 2006 contestant on Mr Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, accused Mr Trump of unwanted sexual contact.
She filed a defamation lawsuit in January after Mr Trump dismissed her claims as “fabricated and made-up charges”.
However, according to the Washington Post, Ms Zervos’s lawyers could not only bring up incidents from the President’s past, but could also force him to testify if the case goes head.
This could backfire on Mr Trump with the Post citing the example of former President Bill Clinton who was impeached after giving misleading testimony regarding repeated allegations of sexual harassment.
Joseph Cammarata, who represented Paula Jones against Mr Clinton said it’s almost a train you can’t stop going down the track.
“It opens him up to have to answer questions about sexual relations, other relationships, what might have been said, to open up your whole life,” he said.
If Ms Zervos wins her case, it could also encourage other accusers to come forward.
‘TOO IMPORTANT’
Meanwhile Mr Trump’s lawyers say he should be immune from a the lawsuit in part because he’s too busy and important.
Lawyer Marc Kasowitz argued Ms Zervos’s lawsuit should at least be delayed until Mr Trump is no longer in office.
He says Mr Trump is protected by the US Constitution from being sued in state court while he’s president.
Mr Trump’s lawyers argue their position is supported by a long line of US Supreme Court cases requiring courts to show deference to the president and his schedule. They also argued his statements are protected by the First Amendment.
“Ms Zervos cannot hold the President liable for engaging in political speech in the context of a public debate,” they said.
Ms Zervos said at a news conference last year that he made unwanted sexual contact with her at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel in 2007.
Her lawsuit sought an apology and $2914.
Her legal team say they will be flexible and work around Mr Trump’s schedule.
Judge Jennifer Schecter was scheduled to hear oral arguments in Manhattan state Supreme Court on Tuesday and is due to issue a ruling.
HARASSMENT CLAIM
In the waning days of the 2016 presidential election, Ms Zervos and more than a dozen other women came forward to say that Mr Trump had sexually assaulted or harassed them over the years.
He has denied the claims.
Ms Zervos said at a press conference in October 2016 that after appearing on Mr Trump’s show she asked him for a job. She said they met and he kissed her on the lips and asked for her phone number.
She came forward with her allegations against Mr Trump shortly after publication of an Access Hollywood video that featured audio of Mr Trump bragging about how he grabs women’s genitalia and gets away with it.
On the video, which was recorded in 2005, Mr Trump talks about forcing himself on women, kissing them and groping them.
Mr Trump apologised for his sexually charged comments after the video emerged and said it was “locker talk”.
Ms Zervos filed a lawsuit in January, the same month Mr Trump took office.
But since then, accusations of sexual misconduct against media mogul Harvey Weinstein by dozens of women started a tsunami of misconduct claims against powerful men in media, politics, business and the arts.
Today show host Matt Lauer, PBS host Charlie Rose, comedian Louis C.K. and others have been felled by the accusations.
Ms Zervos’ lawyers subpoenaed Mr Trump’s campaign, asking to preserve any records concerning Ms Zervos or other women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
Mr Trump’s lawyers have suggested the claims were made up by Ms Zervos’ lawyer Gloria Allred, who they say was bent on getting “revenge” for his election.
Ms Allred, a Democratic activist, insists she’s had no contact with Mr Trump’s main election foe, Democrat Hillary Clinton, about the lawsuit.
Among the exhibits filed in the case: a dozen screenshots of Trump’s Twitter pages calling the claims made up and a New Yorker magazine article on Ms Allred.
In October 2017, at a Rose Garden press conference, Mr Trump again skewered the allegations.
“All I can say is it’s totally fake news — just fake. It’s fake, it’s made-up stuff. And it’s disgraceful what happens,” he said. “That happens in the world of politics.”
- with staff writers
Originally published as Donald Trump: Summer Zervos sexual harassment claims could cost president