A New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that a lawsuit against President Donald Trump could go forward charging the president with defaming Summer Zervos, a former reality show contestant, who alleged he groped and kissed her without consent. Trump called her allegations fabrications and lies. Trump’s lawyer claimed that Trumps denials in October of 2016 during the presidential campaign were political speech protected by the First Amendment and didn’t rise to the level of ridicule or contempt to qualify as defamation. Justice Jennifer Schecter rejected the argument writing that Trump’s comments suggested that Zervos made up the allegations for personal gain and could be viewed as defamatory. (The New York Times, March 20, 2018, by James C. McKinley)
Schedter wrote, “It is settled [by the 1997 Clinton v. Jones sexual harassment lawsuit] that the President of the United States has no immunity and is ‘subject to the laws’ for purely private acts.” Trump’s lawyer is appealing the decision to seek a delay until it is determined that a lawsuit in a state court can proceed against a sitting president. The Jones case was federal. (CNN, March 22, 2018, by Athena Jones and Sonia Moghe)
For earlier FAC coverage of the lawsuit, click here.