WASHINGTON – Attorney Gloria Allred said her client Summer Zervos, a former contestant on The Apprentice, decided to file her defamation lawsuit against President Trump days before the inauguration because “no man is above the law,” including the U.S. president.
Zervos was one of the women who came forward during the presidential campaign with allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by Trump; he publicly denied the accusations, calling the women liars.
Allred was asked why they decided to file the lawsuit as Trump enters office.
“We filed the lawsuit last week when he was President-elect Trump. As the United States Supreme Court said in the case of Clinton vs. Jones, Jones vs. Clinton, no man is above the law and that would include the president of the United States,” she said during an interview at the Creative Coalition’s Inaugural Gala on Friday evening.
In April 2016, Zervos sent an email to Trump’s executive assistant saying she wanted to reconnect with the billionaire businessman.
“I am in a unique situation being that I am the only former Apprentice who operates a business where Mr. Trump’s supporters can walk in, express their admiration for him and inquire about my experience. Mr. Trump has a great deal of support in Huntington Beach, Ca!” the message said. “We hire a diverse crew and embrace anyone who is honest while working hard. Mr. Trump is cut from the same cloth. I would greatly appreciate reconnecting at this time. He will know my intentions are genuine.”
PJM asked Allred and Zervos if that email could complicate their case against Trump.
“I want to say that Summer volunteered to take a polygraph test about her allegations against Mr. Trump. She did take that test. She passed that test according to a well-respected polygrapher. In reference to any other issues or evidence in the case, we are going to litigate that in a court of law and this will be decided in a court of law and not by a tweet in the middle of the night,” she responded.
Allred has a history of supporting Democratic candidates for president. She was a vocal critic of former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) during the 2012 presidential campaign. PJM asked Allred to identify her main concern about Trump.
“Those whom he will nominate for the vacancy and expected vacancies in the future to be associate justices of the United States Supreme Court, because those justices if confirmed, or those nominees if confirmed by the Judiciary Committee, will have an impact on women’s rights and minority rights for decades to come,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has threatened to block Trump’s Supreme Court pick. Allred was asked if she would support that effort.
“I think it depends on who the nominee is and what he or she reveals about their position on a number of key legal issues that have already been decided by the Supreme Court, like Roe v. Wade,” she said.
Given that many Democrats accused congressional Republicans of obstruction when President Obama was in office, Allred was asked if Democratic attempts to block Trump’s agenda could set a bad precedent going forward.
“I really think it has to be issue by issue, nominee by nominee, and that’s what I’ve heard from Democrats, that it really depends. They were supportive of certain appointments that President Trump made and two have been confirmed for his cabinet already, and so it really depends on who the person is and what the issue and what their background is, what their conflicts are, what their ethics have been; I mean, there’s so many issues to consider. I haven’t heard anyone say in a blanket way that they will block everything,” she said.
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