--- title: Donald Trump Lawsuit: Lawyer Argues He Has Immunity description: President Trump believes the Supremacy Clause bars state lawsuits against a sitting president citing the case Bill Clinton v. Paula Jones. canonical: https://time.com/4715090/donald-trump-defamation-lawsuit-constitution/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-28T15:43:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:29.515Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Faces a Defamation Lawsuit. He Says the Constitution Bars Trials While in Office og:description: The Supreme Court has ruled that the President can't defer lawsuits, however. og:url: https://time.com/4715090/donald-trump-defamation-lawsuit-constitution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bfe34ed27142794/6988c026bc6cfc8dac3e0a89/trump-defamation-lawsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: President Trump Participates In Roundtable With Women Small Business Owners og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Faces a Defamation Lawsuit. He Says the Constitution Bars Trials While in Office twitter:description: The Supreme Court has ruled that the President can't defer lawsuits, however. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bfe34ed27142794/6988c026bc6cfc8dac3e0a89/trump-defamation-lawsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Woman Is Suing President Trump for Defamation. His Lawyer Says He Can’t Be Sued While in Office > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f2fbd4c5-663f-4212-a6b0-f4c6ea8aea32&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=f2fbd4c5-663f-4212-a6b0-f4c6ea8aea32&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Former Apprentice Contestant Says Donald Trump Sexually Harassed Her, Kissed Her on the Mouth [Watch (HLS stream): Former Apprentice Contestant Says Donald Trump Sexually Harassed Her, Kissed Her on the Mouth](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7KSt8af2.m3u8) (1:24)  _Published 2016-10-15. A woman who was a contestant on Donald Trump’s show The Apprentice said in a press conference Friday that Trump kissed her on the mouth, stripped naked and attempted to seduce her when she met with him for professional advice._ by [Eriq Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Eriq Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter Mar 28, 2017 3:43 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump listens while meeting with women small business owners in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump listens while meeting with women small business owners in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 27, 2017 in Washington, D.C.Andrew Harrer—Pool/Getty Images by [Eriq Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter](https://time.com/author/the-hollywood-reporter/) ## Eriq Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter Mar 28, 2017 3:43 PM UTC Donald Trump is making a big legal move that may shape his presidency over the next four years. In New York Supreme Court, his longtime lawyer Marc Kasowitz looks to throw up a roadblock to a defamation lawsuit filed by Summer Zervos, who appeared on season five of _The Apprentice_. Zervos, represented by Gloria Allred, [claims that Trump tarnished her reputation](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/trump-hit-defamation-lawsuit-apprentice-contestant-964973) by denying acts boasted to _Access Hollywood’_s Billy Bush about grabbing women’s genitals. The _Apprentice_ alum accuses Trump of kissing her twice in 2007 and attacking her in a hotel room. In response to this, Trump put out a statement that he “never met \[Ms. Zervos\] at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately,” along with tweets how his accuser “made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED.” **_Read more:_** [_Jim Carrey Calls Out Sean Spicer for Having Something in His Teeth During Presser_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jim-carrey-calls-sean-spicer-food-teeth-presser-989080) Now, Trump is looking to bifurcate the litigation so that “the threshold issue of whether the United States Constitution bars this Court from adjudicating this action against President Trump during his Presidency” can be briefed and resolved first. Kasowitz writes that Trump intends to file a motion to dismiss arguing that the Supremacy Clause immunizes the President from being sued in state court while in office. The attorney adds the “crucial threshold issue was raised, but not decided, by the U.S. Supreme Court in _Clinton v. Jones_.” That refers to a lawsuit that Paula Jones filed against Bill Clinton in 1994, while he was serving his first term in the White House. Jones alleged that Clinton sexually harassed her while serving as Governor of Arkansas. Clinton’s attorneys argued that in all but the most exceptional cases, any litigation against the president should be deferred until he left office. **_Read more:_** [_Conservative Star Tomi Lahren “Banned Permanently” From The Blaze_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/conservative-star-tomi-lahren-banned-permanently-blaze-report-988876) In 1997, the high court [came back with its answer](https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/520/681/case.pdf) that a president can’t escape private litigation. “Indeed, if the Framers of the Constitution had thought it necessary to protect the President from the burdens of private litigation, we think it far more likely that they would have adopted a categorical rule than a rule that required the President to litigate the question whether a specific case belonged in the ‘exceptional case’ subcategory,” wrote Justice John Paul Stevens at the time. “In all events, the question whether a specific case should receive exceptional treatment is more appropriately the subject of the exercise of judicial discretion than an interpretation of the Constitution.” But Trump’s lawyer seizes on another aspect of the decision. Stevens also wrote that “immunity questions should be decided at the earliest possible stage of the litigation” in recognition of the “singular importance of the President’s duties.” **_Read more:_** [_Ted Koppel Tells Sean Hannity He is ‘Bad for America’_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ted-koppel-tells-sean-hannity-he-is-bad-america-988838) “Moreover, as in _Clinton v. Jones_, the public interest mandates that the immunity issue be resolved before proceeding further,” writes Kasowitz. “The ‘singular importance of the President’s duties’ warrants a stay where civil actions, such as this one, ‘frequently could distract a President from his public duties, to the detriment of not only the President and his office but also the Nation that the President was designed to serve.’ Requiring President Trump to litigate the merits on a motion to dismiss the complaint, in addition to moving to dismiss on grounds of Presidential immunity, would negate the very interests that that immunity is designed to protect.” According to Trump’s court papers, Zervos’ lawyer initially agreed to a 30-day extension, but wouldn’t agree to a more expansive time table without an agreement to accept service of Zervos’ subpoena. Without a deal, a judge is now being asked to intervene in a constitutional showdown. _This_ [_article_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/donald-trump-asserts-us-constitution-bars-apprentice-stars-defamation-suit-office-989276) _originally appeared on_ [_TheHollywoodReporter.com_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4715090/donald-trump-defamation-lawsuit-constitution/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4715090/donald-trump-defamation-lawsuit-constitution/"},"headline":"This Woman Is Suing President Trump for Defamation. 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