Summer Zervos, a former Apprentice contestant, is suing president trump for defamation. The president accused her of lying after Zervos said that he sexually assaulted her. She filed the lawsuit in state court in New York soon after Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. Trump’s argument is that because he is a high ranking member of the federal government, he cannot be sued in a state court. In other words, because the federal law and the Constitution are the highest power in the country, the state level court should not be allowed to hear a case against a sitting president.
But, there was a case like this during the Clinton presidency. In Clinton v. Jones, Paula Jones sued President Clinton for “abhorrent” sexual advances when he was governor of Arkansas. Jones also claimed that by saying no to his advances, she received punishments from her superiors. The main question was, is the sitting president entitled to immunity from events that happened before taking office? The supreme court decided, unanimously, that no, the president does not have immunity towards events that happened before the president was elected, except for highly unusual circumstances.
So, Zervos’s case will move forward in the court system, and President Trump and his lawyers will have to confront her allegations just like any regular American citizen. As Justice Schecter, the judge who allowed the case to move forward, said, “No one is above the law. It is settled that the president of the United States has no immunity and is ‘subject to the laws’ for purely private acts.”
This case is also being followed closely by other women who have made allegations about President Trump. More than 10 women made accusations, and if this case ends up being a win for Zervos, those other women might file suits.
What the president needs to remember is that just because he is the head of the American government, that doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants. His actions and the consequences of those actions set precedent, and this time, he can’t just make them disappear.