President Trump appeals defamation suit filed by Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos in FOURTH attempt to have the case tossed – arguing that a sitting president cannot be sued
- Summer Zervos and her lawyer appeared in a New York Appellate Court on Thursday while lawyers for President Trump tried to get her case dismissed
- President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz has argued that the case should be dismissed on two grounds, the first being that the Supremacy Clause
- It will be argued by Kasowitz that this clause ‘immunizes the President from being sued in state court,’ which has never been done before in history
- Kasowitz will also argue that President Trump has a First Amendment right to express his opinion while in the course of politics
- Zervos, who appeared in season 5 of The Apprentice, filed a complaint seeking damages from President Trump for making statements she deemed defamatory
Lawyers for President Trump appeared in a New York state appellate court on Thursday afternoon hoping to get a lawsuit filed last year against the real estate scion dismissed on account of his new profession.
Summer Zervos was also on hand for the hearing Thursday, one year after she filed a complaint seeking damages from President Trump for making statements she deemed defamatory, alleging in court papers that these remarks hurt her family restaurant business.
She is now suing for compensatory and punitive damages as well as an apology and a retraction.
This is now the fourth time President Trump has tried to have the case dismissed or delayed, with his legal team failing in their past three efforts.
Two of those efforts failed twice in Supreme Court when they were denied by New York Supreme Court Justice Jennifer G. Schecter and once in new York Appellate Court when Trump’s legal team requested a stay back in March.
Apprent this: Summer Zervos and her lawyer (above on Thursday leaving court) appeared in a New York Appellate Court on Thursday while lawyers for President Trump tried to get her case dismissed
Sustain: President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz (above) has argued that the case should be dismissed on two grounds, the first being that the Supremacy Clause
He did however have success just last weekend when a lawsuit filed against him by Stormy Daniels was dismissed by a judge, and is now hoping to score another critical court victory on Thursday.
President Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz has argued that the case should be dismissed on two grounds, the first being that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution prohibits a sitting president from being sued in court.
It will be argued by Kasowitz that this clause ‘immunizes the President from being sued in state court.’
There is no precedent for a sitting president being sued in a state court, but Bill Clinton was successfully sued in federal court by Paula Jones during his time in office.
That case ultimately went the way of the plaintiff, with Clinton agreeing to a $850,000 settlement.
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Kasowitz will also argue that President Trump has a First Amendment right to express his opinion while in the course of politics.
That was the argument which secured him a victory in getting Daniels’ suit dismissed just last week.
Zervos first came forward with her story in October 2016, just two weeks after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood hot mic tapes in which Trump said he would ‘grab [women] by the p****.’
Zervos appeared at a press conference in Los Angeles alongside attorney Gloria Allred to recount the alleged encounter that occurred between herself and the Republican nominee in his room at the Beverly Hills Hotel back in 2007.
She claims that she reached out to Trump a year after her season of the Apprentice aired to speak about possible business opportunities, and when she met with him he kissed her ‘open mouthed’ multiple times, and at one point placed his hand on her breast.
History?: It will be argued by Kasowitz that this clause ‘immunizes the President from being sued in state court,’ which has never been done before in history (Trump above on Wednesday)
Herstory: Zervos filed a complaint seeking damages from President Trump for making statements she deemed defamatory
Trump then allegedly had Zervos lie in bed with him she said telling her he wanted to watch ‘telly telly,’ but soon after began ‘thrusting his genitals’ at her despite her pleas asking him to stop.
Zervos broke down in tears throughout the press conference, and said towards the end of her remarks: ‘After hearing the released audio tapes and your denial during the debate, I felt I had to speak out about your behavior.
‘You do not have the right to treat women as sexual objects just because you are a star.’
She stated that she told two friends about the incident at the time.
And despite not taking questions after reading her statement she did chime in when reporters questioned Allred about why she made the decision to come forward after all these years, saying: ‘Because I want to be able to sleep at night when I’m 70.’
Trump denied Zervos’ allegations in a statement saying that he only vaguely remembered the woman. He also claimed that she had contacted him as recently as April inviting him to dine at her restaurant.
Those denials quickly became attacks on the campaign stage and Twitter, where he called Zervos and his other accusers ‘liars’ who were spouting ‘totally made-up nonsense to steal the election.’
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