Supreme Court Ruling in Bill Clinton Sexual Misconduct Case Could Spell Trouble for Trump
As president, Donald Trump may be required to testify in a defamation suit brought by one of the women who allege he assaulted them.
A former contestant on Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice” alleges he sexually assaulted her in 2007. (Flickr / CC 2.0)
A 1997 Supreme Court decision that ultimately doomed the presidency of Bill Clinton could come back to haunt Donald Trump.
In Clinton v. Jones, the high court ruled for the first time that a sitting president may be sued for actions taken before he or she took office. The court specified that these actions do not have to relate to the office of the presidency.
On Tuesday, Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump’s TV show “The Apprentice,” filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump defamed her in his response to her claim that he sexually assaulted her during a job interview in 2007.
Zervos’ attorney, Gloria Allred, said Tuesday she would seek to have Trump deposed under oath. It was then-President Clinton’s deposition regarding his relationship with Paula Jones that ultimately led to his impeachment in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Trump has issued a blanket denial of the sexual misconduct charges that Zervos and more than a dozen other women have made against him. In doing so, he has accused the women of lying and of fabricating the alleged incidents. This is the basis of Zervos’ defamation suit.
The Washington Post noted Tuesday that the Clinton case “shows the potential peril of such suits for a sitting president.”
— Posted by Gregory Glover
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
Opinion
Is it possible to build a political party that truly speaks to the needs of working people in an era of runaway inequality and incessant mass layoffs?
Middle East
Thirty years after Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn, it's time to admit the process never had a chance to succeed.
The class war that gave rise to his campaign is the fault of a long line of corporate Democrats like Joe Biden, and voters know it.
America has looked the other way amid a child-rape epidemic in Afghanistan. It's a scandal that speaks volumes about our imperial project.
Democrats convinced that the Vermont senator would lose to Donald Trump vastly underestimate the risk of nominating a so-called moderate.
If Bernie Sanders — miraculously — wins the nomination, Democratic Party elites suddenly will bless Trump as the least worst option.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.