Litigators

Lawsuit With The Best Chance Of Putting Trump Under Oath, Continues

The Summer Zervos suit keeps going.

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Summer Zervos (photo via Getty)

Donald Trump is the most legally exposed President in American history, and I’m including Jefferson Davis when I say that. He is under investigation by a special counsel for conspiracy with a foreign government and obstruction of justice. He’s being pursued by pretty much every Congressional committee. His family and his businesses are being scrutinized by the Southern District of New York, The New York State Attorney General, and the Manhattan District Attorney. His inauguration committee is under investigation. He’s facing a first-of-its-kind lawsuit over taking foreign emoluments. His former campaign manager is going to jail, his former lawyer pleaded guilty to various crimes and is cooperating with prosecutors, multiple campaign aides have pleaded guilty to crimes.

But the thing that might get Trump in a courtroom under oath most quickly is the defamation lawsuit brought against him by Summer Zervos.

Zervos is among the many women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. The tally now stands at 23 women, and Trump claims they’re all lying. Zervos is suing Trump for defamation.

Yesterday, a Manhattan court ruled that her defamation suit could go forward. From the New York Law Journal:

The Appellate Division, First Department panel majority of Justices Dianne Renwick, Troy Webber, and Cynthia Kern found that Summer Zervos, who alleged Trump sexual harassed her on the set of his reality television show, could proceed with her defamation suit.

“…[T]e current sitting President attempts to shield himself from consequences for his alleged unofficial misconduct by relying upon the constitutional protection of the Presidency,” the panel majority found. “…[W]e find that the Supremacy Clause was never intended to deprive a state court of its authority to decide cases and controversies under the state’s constitution.”
The panel’s majority, authored by Renwick, reached back to legal arguments formulated during the Clinton administration. The panel pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1997 decision in Clinton v. Jones, which held that the then-president was was not shielded with temporary immunity from federal civil controversies over matters that occurred before he took office.

The Trump team says it will appeal this ruling.

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This is the point in litigation where, historically speaking, any other wealthy and powerful man who is dogged by sexual misconduct allegations would reach for their checkbook and try to buy themselves out of discovery. Trump has good enough arguments that calling a woman a liar during a presidential election where he called all sorts of people liars and fakes is not defamation. But, most likely, Trump does NOT have good arguments that he never sexually harassed Summer Zervos. If 23 women and Access Hollywood describe basically the same thing, and the most dishonest President in history says the other thing, I’m inclined to believe the women and the tapes more than man.

Discovery into his conduct will likely show that his statements about Zervos were false.

A deposition of Donald Trump, which now can happen, pending appeal, is the worst of all possible worlds for Trump. He’s either going to sit there and stick to his (likely false) story at the risk of committing perjury. Or he’s going to tell the truth (lol) and open himself up to additional defamation claims from the many, many women who have accused him of misconduct.

He should settle, any other man in his position would settle. Politically, he probably could get away with settling since his cult followers and the Republican Party will believe anything he says anyway.

But Trump, who, remember, threatened to sue all of the women who have spoken to his misconduct, can’t settle. Because I don’t think people like Summer Zervos want his fake money anymore. They want to be treated with dignity and respect and dignity and respect are two things Trump can’t treat anybody with unless they are Russian oligarchs.

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This lawsuit will continue. And it seems increasingly likely Trump will have to testify, under oath, as to whether or not he sexually harasses women. And that might, it just might, lead to some measure of justice being done upon him.

Trump Can Face Litigation in State Courts as President, Appellate Panel Majority Rules [New York Law Journal]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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