There's 1 defamation lawsuit Trump just can't shake
President Trump may have have another defamation storm coming.
Summer Zervos is among several women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct during the 2016 campaign, and sued him for defamation when he called the women liars. A New York appeals court decided 3-2 on Thursday that the former Apprentice contestant's case could proceed — and cited an eerily similar case along the way, The Washington Post reports.
Trump's lawyers have tried several times to dismiss Zervos' case. This time, they claimed the president can't be sued in state court thanks to a 1996 Supreme Court ruling in Paula Jones' lawsuit against former President Bill Clinton, per ABC News. Jones had sued Clinton over retaliation she said she suffered after rejecting his sexual advances, and Clinton tried to use his presidential immunity to dismiss it. The Supreme Court unanimously decided that presidents are not protected from civil litigation.
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Zervos alleged that Trump kissed her on the lips and groped her breast in a business meeting in 2007. Trump claimed Zervos and his other accusers were women searching for their "10 minutes of fame," prompting her 2017 lawsuit.
The decision is starkly different from the one handed to Stormy Daniels in October. The adult film star had sued Trump after he said she arranged a "total con job" against him — comments Daniels said were defamatory lies in her lawsuit. A judge subsequently dismissed the case and ordered Daniels to pay Trump's legal fees. Despite Trump's legal team's best efforts, Zervos' case has continued moving forward. Trump is also still facing a number of other lawsuits from women who've accused him of sexual misconduct and defamation.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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