New York: Former President Donald trump Wants to counter a former “Apprentice” contestant who accused him of defaming her when he denied her allegations of sexual assault.
Saying he is being harassed for preventing Trump from speaking freely, his lawyer asked on Monday to pursue a counter-argument against a court’s permission. summer zervos.
The request comes as Zervos’ nearly five-year-old defamation lawsuit nears a critical stage. He will be interrogated under oath till December 23.
Zervos says Trump hurt her reputation by saying that he accused her of unwanted kissing and groping in 2007—a claim she publicly aired during the 2016 presidential campaign.
His denials included retweeting a message calling his claims “a hoax”. He also described a series of women who tried to torpedo him as “liars” accusing him of sexual assault and harassment. white House hopes.
Trump’s former lawyers responded years ago that they did not defame Zervos. He said that his statements were true and the right to freedom of expression was protected.
Now he wants to strengthen his defense by adopting a 2020 New York law that makes it easier to defeat defamation claims involving public communications on issues of public interest.
The law was envisioned as helping journalists, activists and others with powerful interests to back unfounded claims of interest who seek to sue them for their silence. Trump lawyer Alina Habba argues that this applies to statements made by the future president “at the highest levels of the national forum,” including during a debate.
Zervos sued “for the sole purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously obstructing Trump and his free speech rights,” Habba wrote in court papers filed Monday. They want unspecified damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.
Zervos’s lawyer, Beth Wilkinson and moira penza, said New York laws “do not grant Mr Trump a license to evade accountability for his words.”
“We look forward to taking Mr. Trump’s statement and fighting his unwarranted attacks against our client,” Wilkinson and Penza said in a statement. He called his filing “a desperate response” to the December deadline for the deposit, a legal term for sworn inquiries by the other party’s lawyers.
Monday’s filing comes as Trump answered hours of questions in a statement in a separate lawsuit filed by protesters who say his security team harassed him in 2015. He said in statement after statement that the protesters’ claim was “unfounded harassment” and that he was happy to tell his side of that story.
Zervos, a California restaurant, appeared on “The Apprentice” in 2006, when Trump hosted the show. She says she contacted him the next year to talk about her career. According to him, he then made unwanted advances during meetings at his New York office and a hotel in California where he was staying.
She is seeking unspecified damages, withdrawing her alleged defamatory statements and apologizing.
NS The Associated Press It generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they have come out in public, as Zervos has done.
Saying he is being harassed for preventing Trump from speaking freely, his lawyer asked on Monday to pursue a counter-argument against a court’s permission. summer zervos.
The request comes as Zervos’ nearly five-year-old defamation lawsuit nears a critical stage. He will be interrogated under oath till December 23.
Zervos says Trump hurt her reputation by saying that he accused her of unwanted kissing and groping in 2007—a claim she publicly aired during the 2016 presidential campaign.
His denials included retweeting a message calling his claims “a hoax”. He also described a series of women who tried to torpedo him as “liars” accusing him of sexual assault and harassment. white House hopes.
Trump’s former lawyers responded years ago that they did not defame Zervos. He said that his statements were true and the right to freedom of expression was protected.
Now he wants to strengthen his defense by adopting a 2020 New York law that makes it easier to defeat defamation claims involving public communications on issues of public interest.
The law was envisioned as helping journalists, activists and others with powerful interests to back unfounded claims of interest who seek to sue them for their silence. Trump lawyer Alina Habba argues that this applies to statements made by the future president “at the highest levels of the national forum,” including during a debate.
Zervos sued “for the sole purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously obstructing Trump and his free speech rights,” Habba wrote in court papers filed Monday. They want unspecified damages, as well as attorneys’ fees.
Zervos’s lawyer, Beth Wilkinson and moira penza, said New York laws “do not grant Mr Trump a license to evade accountability for his words.”
“We look forward to taking Mr. Trump’s statement and fighting his unwarranted attacks against our client,” Wilkinson and Penza said in a statement. He called his filing “a desperate response” to the December deadline for the deposit, a legal term for sworn inquiries by the other party’s lawyers.
Monday’s filing comes as Trump answered hours of questions in a statement in a separate lawsuit filed by protesters who say his security team harassed him in 2015. He said in statement after statement that the protesters’ claim was “unfounded harassment” and that he was happy to tell his side of that story.
Zervos, a California restaurant, appeared on “The Apprentice” in 2006, when Trump hosted the show. She says she contacted him the next year to talk about her career. According to him, he then made unwanted advances during meetings at his New York office and a hotel in California where he was staying.
She is seeking unspecified damages, withdrawing her alleged defamatory statements and apologizing.
NS The Associated Press It generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted, unless they have come out in public, as Zervos has done.
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