Summary: Donald Trump has asked a judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit from a former Apprentice contestant.
Donald Trump fired Summer Zervos on reality TV, but that’s not why she’s suing him. The reality star claims that our 45th President sexually harassed her and then called her a liar after she accused him publicly. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he filed a motion to dismiss on Friday, stating that she was attempting to gather fodder for an impeachment hearing.
The fight between the two sprang up after Trump was exposed in an Access Hollywood tape, saying that he “grabbed [women] by the p-ssy.” As Trump faced backlash for his misogynistic comment, Zervos came forward and said that he had sexually harassed her in 2007. She said that he attacked her in a hotel room shortly after she was kicked off the show.
Trump immediately responded to her accusation, saying that he never met her at a hotel and that her claim was “100 percent fabricated” and “made-up.” He added that the allegation was “pushed strongly by the media and the Clinton campaign.”
Zervos’ viewed Trump’s attack on her credibility as defamation, and she filed a lawsuit through her attorney, Gloria Allred. She said that Trump had branded her a liar, and Allred said that they are looking forward to deposing him in the case, which is only seeking $2,914 in damages.
On Friday, Trump asked that the lawsuit be dismissed or at least delayed until he leaves office, and his attorney Marc Kasowitz repeated Trump’s insinuation that Zervos is politically motivated.
“Ms. Zervos and her counsel have openly conceded — indeed, bragged — that their true motivation is to use this action for political purposes as a pretext to obtain broad discovery that they hoped could be used in impeachment hearings to distract from the President’s agenda,” Trump’s dismissal stated.
Trump’s defense to getting the lawsuit dismissed is pinned to the Supremacy Clause, which essentially states that courts do not interfere in the operations of the federal government. However, the Supreme Court determined in 1997 during Bill Clinton’s sexual harassment lawsuit that presidents are not immune to civil litigation.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Trump’s plan-B defense could be to use the First Amendment for protection.
“The allegedly defamatory statements were made during a national political campaign that involved heated public debate in political forums,” Kasowitz said. “Statements made in that context are properly viewed by courts as part of the expected fiery rhetoric, hyperbole, and opinion that is squarely protected by the First Amendment.”
Trump’s dismissal request also said that he is not liable for his retweeting of others’ negative opinions of Zervos. He said that those postings were not his and he was not the publisher.
Most importantly, Trump said that he did not assault Zervos like she claimed, and Kasowitz wrote that Zervos’ public allegations were retaliation for him not helping her career.
“For instance, she continued to seek employment from President Trump for several years, even after their purported encounter because ‘her dream of working for Mr. Trump might come true,'” the motion said. “In April 2016 — a mere six months before she made her unfounded public accusations — she contacted President Trump to invite him to her restaurant. It was only after President Trump rejected her invitation that she turned against him, levying her false accusations. As Ms. Zervos’ own cousin opined as to why she was making these untrue statements, ‘I think Summer wishes she could still be on reality TV.'”
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter