President Donald Trump’s lawyers argued he should be immune from a New York defamation lawsuit filed by a former Apprentice contestant because he’s too busy and important.
Summer Zervos was in New York Supreme Court on Tuesday for her defamation suit which claimed that Trump had ‘branded her a liar’ when he refuted her allegations that he’d sexually assaulted her in 2007.
In the motion to dismiss and strike the lawsuit, Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz dismissed Zervos’ allegations saying that the assault had never happened and her suit was ‘politically motivated.’
Summer Zervos was in New York Supreme Court on Tuesday (pictured) for her defamation suit
The Apprentice contestant appeared at a hearing in Manhattan State Supreme court for a defamation lawsuit she filed against President Donald Trump
Lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump, Marc Kasowitz, appeared in court during the defamation hearing for Summer Zervos
During oral arguments this afternoon, Kasowitz said the lawsuit would impede the ability of the president to do his job and should be delayed until he is no longer in office.
He says Trump is protected by the U.S. Constitution from being sued in state court while he’s president and that his speech is protected by the First Amendment.
One of Zervos’ attorneys, Marian Wong, argued in response that the New York Supreme Court was the best place to hear a case against ‘a born-and-bred New Yorker?’
She added that they would do everything they can to work to the president’s schedule, even offering to take his deposition down at Mar-a-Lago and talking with him when he’s ‘not golfing’.
Wong argued that no one, not even the president, is not above the law.
Zervos (pictured outside New York Supreme Court on Tuesday) claimed that Trump had ‘branded her a liar’ when he refuted her allegations that he’d sexually assaulted her in 2007
Summer Zervos, center, listens as her attorney Gloria Allred, second from right, addresses the press
Zervos, a contestant on the reality TV show ‘The Apprentice’ in 2006, had accused President Donald Trump of unwanted sexual contact in 2007, and then accused him of defamation when he denied the claims
Zervos, center, leaves Manhattan State Supreme court, Tuesday, after the hearing
Zervos was also accompanied by her other lawyer Gloria Allred, who is representing dozens of other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
Kasowitz responded in his rebuttal that his motion to dismiss the lawsuit ‘has nothing to do with putting anyone above the law’ but was about ‘protecting the ability of the president to do his constitutionally-mandated job.’
Judge Jennifer Schecter is due to issue a ruling after hearing the arguments today.
Zervos had filed her lawsuit in January, three days before Trump’s inauguration.
The lawsuit contends that Trump’s denials of Zervos’s accusations amounted to false and defamatory statements which had harmed her and her business.
Trump’s lawyers, led by Kasowitz, have said in court filings that the lawsuit should be dismissed, arguing that Zervos is making false, self-contradictory and politically motivated accusations and that the president’s remarks were ‘non-actionable fiery rhetoric.’
Zervos met Trump (pictured) after becoming a contestant on NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ in 2005. She has accused Trump of kissing her against her will at his New York office in 2007
In the motion to dismiss and strike the lawsuit, Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz (pictured) dismissed Zervos’ allegations saying that the assault had never happened and her suit was ‘politically motivated’
Kasowitz (leaving court on Tuesday) says that his motion to dismiss the lawsuit ‘has nothing to do with putting anyone above the law’ but was about ‘protecting the ability of the president to do his constitutionally-mandated job’
Marc Kasowitz, second from right and Paul Burgo, left, attorneys for President Donald Trump, stand outside Manhattan State Supreme court
In March, Zervos, who accused Trump of groping her during meetings in 2007, subpoenaed Trump’s presidential campaign for any documents concerning similar allegations against him. Trump has denied any such accusations.
If the case went ahead, it could lead to Trump being compelled to hand over any documents from his campaign related to any accusations of sexual impropriety made against him. Trump could also be required to testify.
The lawsuit cited as examples of defamation numerous posts from Trump’s Twitter account, including one from October 15, 2016, which said, ‘Nothing ever happened with any of these women. Totally made up nonsense to steal the election.’
Zervos’s lawyers, including Allred, have cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Clinton v. Jones, which allowed former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against Bill Clinton to proceed in 1997 while he was still U.S. president.
Zervos looked jubilant as she left the court with her lawyers on Tuesday afternoon
Zervos was accompanied by lawyer Gloria Allred (left) who is representing dozens of other women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct
During oral arguments this afternoon, Kasowitz (pictured in the court building) said the lawsuit would impede the ability of the president to do his job and should be delayed until he is no longer in office
The decision led to Clinton’s impeachment after he lied under oath about his sexual relationship with another woman, Monica Lewinsky.
Trump’s lawyers have said that Clinton v. Jones only applies to lawsuits in federal courts, not state courts.
Zervos met Trump after becoming a contestant on NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ in 2005. She has accused Trump of kissing her against her will at his New York office in 2007 and later groping her in a hotel in Beverley Hills after she met with him about a possible job.
She was one of several women who made accusations against Trump after the emergence last year of a conversation recorded in 2005 in which he spoke in vulgar terms about trying to have sex with women. The tape was recorded while Trump was speaking with TV host Billy Bush of ‘Access Hollywood.’
Trump has said that the comments amounted to ‘locker room banter,’ and his campaign issued a statement in which he apologized if anyone was offended.
Since the lawsuit was filed, numerous accusations of sexual misconduct have been made against powerful men in politics, media and entertainment