President Trump will face a defamation suit filed by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos after a Manhattan Supreme Court judge rejected Trump’s request for immunity through his role as president Tuesday.
“In Clinton v. Jones, the United States Supreme Court held that a sitting president is not immune from being sued in federal court for unofficial acts,” Justice Jennifer Schecter wrote in her ruling citing the 1998 impeachment proceedings of then-President Bill Clinton.
“It left open the question of whether concerns of federalism and comity compel a different conclusion for suits brought in state court. Because they do not, defendant’s motion to dismiss this case or hold it in abeyance is denied,” Schecter ruled.
Schecter’s decision allows Zervos to move forward in her defamation case against President Trump.
Zervos is pursuing a defamation case where the president suggested Zervos made up allegations of sexual assault in 2007 that she brought forward in 2016.
The decision comes as President Trump is grappling with multiple lawsuits of women alleging inappropriate contact with the president, including one from the adult entertainment star known as Stormy Daniels and, most recently, ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal.
