Former Apprentice contest Summer Zervos is suing president-elect Donald Trump because Trump denied her claims of unwanted contact.
Celebrity and Democratic attorney, Gloria Allred, said in the news conference that Zervos had given Trump two months to issue a retraction but Trump had not done so. Zervos is now moving forward to accuse Trump of defamation because he denied her claims, Allred said.
The press conference occurred on January 17. You can watch it above.
Zervos was one of the string of women who came forward before the presidential election to accuse Trump of unwanted overtures or groping. She had alleged that Trump aggressively kissed and grabbed her during a job interview in 2007. Allred said some of those women have had to endure derogatory comments in the wake of their allegations.
Summer Zervos. (Getty)
“It takes a great deal of courage to sue the most powerful man on the planet,” said Allred, who has a long history in Democratic politics and who contended that Zervos has passed a polygraph.
Trump has denied all of the allegations lodged against him. It was his denial of Zervos’ claims that led to the lawsuit.
The new lawsuit came just three days before Trump’s inauguration. The Zervos’ lawsuit raises the specter of the president elect being deposed under oath by Allred. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled during the Paula Jones’ case against then President Bill Clinton that sitting presidents can be sued in some cases for unofficial conduct.
Asked about the impact on the presidency, Allred said, “That depends what his (Trump’s) reaction is to the filing of this lawsuit. In the event that we are able to take his deposition under oath, of course he will have the responsibility to testify truthfully… if he does not, there are always serious consequences in the legal system for those who do not testify truthfully under oath.”
Allred brought up Jones during the news conference, saying that Clinton had suffered consequences as a result of her civil action.
You can read the civil suit and more about it here:
