A woman who accused President-elect Trump of touching her inappropriately is suing him for defamation after he “falsely denied” the accusation and made “false, disparaging statements” about her.
Attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference in Los Angeles announcing the lawsuit against Trump. The plaintiff, Summer Zervos, is one of the multiple women who accused Trump of inappropriate sexual contact before the election.
More than 10 women accused Trump of sexual misconduct before the election. Many of the women came forward after a tape was released showing Trump making lewd statements about women on a hot mic during a taping of “Access Hollywood.”
The lawsuit, filed in New York on Tuesday, is a follow-up to a press conference Allred and Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice,” had shortly after Trump was elected. Allred said all Zervos wanted was Trump to admit he had behaved inappropriately and retract his statements calling Zervos’ character into question.
Since that time, the Trump team hasn’t responded and Allred said there was no choice but to file the lawsuit.
“This was in Mr. Trump’s hands. This lawsuit did not need to be filed. We’ve been very patient,” she said. “This lawsuit didn’t have to happen, it was really up to him.”
The lawsuit leaves Trump with one of three options: attempt to settle, fight the suit and face a possible deposition under oath or simply admit that he was sexually inappropriate with Zervos. If he admits his behavior, then Zervos said she would drop the lawsuit for no monetary gain and would not sue him for sexual harassment.
“I wanted to give Mr. Trump the opportunity to retract his false statements about me and the other women who came forward,” she said. “Since Mr. Trump has not issued a retraction, as I requested, he has therefore left me with no alternative but to sue him to vindicate my reputation.”
The alleged harassment took place while Zervos was a contestant on Trump’s NBC show. Allred said film and audio recordings that didn’t air as a part of the program could be subpoenaed to become evidence in the lawsuit.
Allred alluded multiple times to a lawsuit filed against President Clinton where he was determined to have lied under oath and was subsequently impeached.
“The lawsuit against then-President Clinton had consequences for him,” she said. “This lawsuit will have consequences, potentially, for then-President Trump. It’s really up to him what those consequences will be, either positive or negative.”
Quoting the lawsuit, Allred said Zervos initially believed Trump was an aberration or possibly a test for “The Apprentice.” She told family and friends about it, but kept silent until October when a tape of Trump making crude remarks about women on a hot microphone on “Access Hollywood.”
In that tape, Trump said famous people like him could do anything they want to women and then alluded to inappropriately touching a woman.
Zervos then decided his behavior wasn’t an aberration but was a sign that he was a sexual predator. She came forward with her story and Trump attacked her as making up stories to harm him and seeking 15 minutes of fame.
Allred said those statements from Trump resulted in “push back” from Trump’s supporters.
“For all of the accusers … they received a significant amount of push back and very, in some cases, derogatory and hurtful and, in some cases, threatening types of statements from certain people,” she said.
Allred she has not been in contact with anyone related to Hillary Clinton about the case.
