Donald Trump has been in trouble at every turn. There was the call from Russian president, Vladimir Putin, where he forgot to mention Russia interfering in our elections. Then, there was the special counselor, Robert Mueller’s, investigation into his family finances. After that it got worse.
The porn star has been suing him to break a nondisclosure agreement. Then, there was the former Playboy model who sold her story to a tabloid magazine. Unfortunately, the National Inquirer has been great friends to Donald Trump. The rag quashed the story, but the model may have a better chance than the porn star.
Next, the president has been facing a defamation lawsuit from a woman who was a former contestant on Trump’s reality TV show, The Apprentice. Trump will not be able to avoid this case or claim immunity, just because he is the president of these United States.
By law, presidents have to respond to civil cases. The president’s attorney argued that presidents do not have to respond to civil suits, but to no avail. The issue was that this had never been tested in court. Now, that is about to change. Justice Jennifer Schecter wrote the 19-page decision, The New York Post reported:
‘No one is above the law.’
Trump’s attorney argued that presidents are shielded from civil litigation in state courts under the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, but that assertion had never been fully tested by the courts — until now. Schecter wrote:
“It is settled that the President of the United States has no immunity and is ‘subject to the laws’ for purely private acts.’
In 2016, Summer Zervos accused Trump of groping and pressing his privates against her in 2007. Now, she has charged Trump with defamation of character for saying her charges were “fiction” and her claims were only for “personal gain.”
After the judge’s decision, Trump will probably have to sit in a deposition case. The judge said:
‘His comments could lead people to view the former reality TV star as “contemptible. His statements can be proven true or false, as they pertain to whether (Zervos) made up allegations to pursue her own agenda.’
Marc Kasowitz, who is the president’s attorney in this case, requested the judge to either delay the case or drop it entirely. He argued that “there can’t be any curtailment” of 45’s duties while he was serving as our nation’s leader.
During his oral argument last December, the attorney said:
‘Thomas Jefferson made clear that the president’s responsibilities are 24/7, every single day no matter what he or she is doing.’
Justice Schecter was having none of it. She cited a 1998 sexual harassment case that moved toward President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment. Hillary Clinton’s husband’s error was lying under oath about his affair with White House intern Monika Lewinsky: The judge wrote:
‘(There was) absolutely no authority for dismissing or staying the case.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. 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.’
‘Nothing in the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution even suggests that the president cannot be called to account before a state court for wrongful conduct that bears no relationship to any federal executive responsibility. Significantly, when unofficial conduct is at issue, there is no risk that a state will improperly encroach on powers given to the federal government by interfering with the manner in which the President performs federal functions.’
‘There are no compelling reasons for delaying plaintiff’s day in court. ‘
Featured Image via Getty Images/Spencer Platt.
