Trump Subpoenaed: Alleged Groping Victim Wants Documents From Trump Campaign On Assault Allegations
Donald Trump has been subpoenaed by a woman who claims the president groped her in 2007, setting up a potentially embarrassing legal showdown for the 46th president, Buzzfeed News is reporting.
Summer Zervos, who competed on Trump’s reality program The Apprentice over a decade ago, first publicly accused Trump last October, just before the election, of having inappropriate sexual contact with her. She claimed that, in 2007, she had agreed to meet Trump at his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel to discuss a possible job within his organization. Specifically, she claims that Trump kissed her and grabbed her without her consent.
At the time, Trump responded to the allegations by calling it a lie. Zervos responded by suing Trump for defamation. The subpoena in question was issued in March 2017, as part of that suit; it has only been made public now.
The subpoena demands that the Trump campaign maintain all documents about Zervos, and asks Zervos’ legal team for all documents related to “any woman alleging that Donald J. Trump touched her inappropriately.” Among them women who have accused Trump of inappropriately touching them are Jessica Leeds, Mindy McGillivray, Rachel Crooks, Natasha Stoynoff, Temple Taggart, Kristin Anderson, Cathy Heller, Jill Harth, and Jessica Drake.
Trump’s attorneys have called the subpoena too broad and are fighting to have it dismissed. Similarly, Trump’s legal team is asking the courts to dismiss Zervos’ lawsuit entirely, or at the very least, delay it until Trump is out of office. Additionally, Trump’s legal team have argued that the president is immune from civil lawsuits in state courts while he holds the office of president.
What the subpoena means for the Oval Office remains to be seen. While the Zervos suit could potentially uncover damning or embarrassing information about the president, he’s been beset by allegations of wrongdoing against women since early in his campaign, if not before. None of those allegations have done any lasting damage to the president, so far.
Further, it bears noting that Zervos’ lawsuit is a civil one, and not a criminal matter.
Trump’s legal team has until October 31 to respond to Zervos’ subpoena.
Trump, meanwhile, has not responded publicly to news of the subpoena, as of this writing.
[Featured Image by Evan Vucci/AP]
