Summer Zervos: Donald Trump’s Sexual Assault Accuser Calls On Him To Drop Lawsuit Threat, Says She Won’t Be Silenced
Summer Zervos is not backing down in her allegation of sexual assault against Donald Trump, and this week she called on the president-elect to drop his threat of suing the women who had accused him of sexual misconduct during the 2016 presidential race.
The former contestant on The Apprentice had claimed that Trump groped her and kissed her on the lips when the two met to discuss job opportunities. Zervos was one of more than a dozen women to accuse Trump of acting in a sexually inappropriate manner, including a number who claimed he sexually assaulted them.
Zervos had claimed that Trump came onto her during a meeting the two had at a hotel room, People magazine noted.
“He put me in an embrace and I tried to push him away. I pushed his chest to put space between us and I said ‘Come on man, get real.’ He repeated my words back to me, ‘Get real’ as he began thrusting his genitals. He tried to kiss me again and with my hand still on his chest I said ‘Dude, you’re trippin’ right now,’ attempting to make it clear that I was not interested.”
Donald Trump denied the allegation, saying that he had never met Zervos at a hotel and that his only contact with her was in April when Zervos asked to visit with Trump.
And John Barry, a cousin of Summer Zervos, claimed publicly that her allegation was just an “attempt to regain the spotlight at Mr. Trump’s expense.”
“For almost a decade, my cousin would talk about how much she looked up to Mr. Trump and viewed him as an inspiration — a success story she wanted to copy,” Barry said (via People magazine).
Trump has also vowed to sue the women accusing him of sexual assault, saying at a rally in Pennsylvania that he planned to take action after the election was over.
“All of these women will be sued after the election,” Trump said (via The Daily Beast).
At least one of the accusations has already been with withdrawn. A woman claiming that Trump had raped her when she was 13-years-old has since dropped her lawsuit, just days after canceling a press conference where she promised to detail the allegations.
Donald Trump's Child Rape Accuser Canceled Her Press Conference Due to Death Threats https://t.co/LepJKLsfMG pic.twitter.com/lHWEgcvPAk
— Cosmopolitan (@Cosmopolitan) November 3, 2016
Trump Teen Rape Accuser Drops Lawsuit for Reported Third Timehttps://t.co/ChBqPgiWbM
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 5, 2016
Some legal experts said it was unlikely that Donald Trump would actually follow through on the threat, noting that the burden of proof would not change even for the president-elect.
“[Trump] would have to deal with the law as it is, not as he would like it to be,” Michael Gerhardt, a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, told The Daily Beast.
Filing a lawsuit against some of all of the women could also leave Trump open to a discovery process that may expose more secrets about his wealth and private life.
Trump has also appeared to back off some of the more inflammatory accusations and promises made during the campaign. Though he mentioned several times — including during the presidential debates — that he would appoint a special prosecutor as president to investigate and potentially jail Hillary Clinton, he has not reiterated that claim since winning the presidential race.
But despite Donald Trump’s surprising win in the 2016 presidential election, Summer Zervos said she will continue to speak out and is calling on Trump to back off his vow to sue accusers.
“I want to make it clear that even though it is hard and painful to go up against the world’s most powerful man, I will continue to speak the truth and I refuse to be intimidated into silence,” she said.
Summer Zervos said she has no intention to file suit against Donald Trump for her sexual assault allegations, but lawyer Gloria Allred said that if Donald Trump should follow through on his threat to sue his accusers, she would recommend that Zervos file a counter-suit for defamation.
[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
