--- title: Why the Summer Zervos Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Matters description: In the lawsuit by the former "Apprentice" contestant against President Donald Trump, a New York court made an essential ruling canonical: https://time.com/5210922/summer-zervos-lawsuit-donald-trump/ author: Justin Florence article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-22T19:24:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:33.219Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why the Summer Zervos Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Matters og:description: A court ruling has broader implications for the President og:url: https://time.com/5210922/summer-zervos-lawsuit-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0445721cef108395/69892ba7db2987a0df25f2e8/summer-zervos-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP-COURT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the Summer Zervos Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Matters twitter:description: A court ruling has broader implications for the President twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0445721cef108395/69892ba7db2987a0df25f2e8/summer-zervos-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Summer Zervos Lawsuit Against President Trump Matters > Sponsored content. 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A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=d6625cb7-4fa4-4543-837a-e4fbca4243df&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why Donald Trump Constantly Makes Promises He Doesn't Intend to Keep [Watch (HLS stream): Why Donald Trump Constantly Makes Promises He Doesn't Intend to Keep](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sADHWZOt.m3u8) (2:44)  _Published 2018-02-27. You may not be surprised that Donald Trump hasn’t kept a number of promises as president, but you should be._ by [Justin Florence](https://time.com/author/justin-florence/) ## Justin Florence Mar 22, 2018 7:24 PM UTC  Summer Zervos a former contestant on "The Apprentice" looks at the camera as she embraces lawyer Gloria Allred after they leave the New York County Criminal Court on Dec. 5, 2017. Summer Zervos a former contestant on "The Apprentice" looks at the camera as she embraces lawyer Gloria Allred after they leave the New York County Criminal Court on Dec. 5, 2017. Kena Betancur—AFP/Getty Images by [Justin Florence](https://time.com/author/justin-florence/) ## Justin Florence Mar 22, 2018 7:24 PM UTC Since taking office, President Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly trotted out the argument that this President is above the law. Whether declaring he has “[the absolute right](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/us/politics/trump-interview-excerpts.html)” to do what he wants with the Justice Department, or seeking to avoid litigation against him with claims of immunity, the President all too often purports to be the king of the castle, not President of a democratic nation. Tuesday’s opinion from Judge Schechter of the New York Supreme Court in the Summer Zervos defamation case against Trump rightly rejects these claims. The very first sentence, “No one is above the law.” could not be clearer. No one, not even and perhaps especially not the President of the United States is entirely immune from suit. The case involves former _Apprentice_ contestant Summer Zervos, who is suing President Trump for defamation because he called her a liar after she accused him of sexual misconduct. The suit was filed in January of 2017, shortly before inauguration day, in state court in New York, where Zervos and Trump both lived at the time. Trump responded to the suit with the argument that — because he is now President — he cannot be sued in state court. Trump’s lawyers argued that a constitutional provision making the Constitution and federal laws the supreme law of the land prevents state courts from hearing cases against a sitting President. In other words, Trump’s argument is that because the President holds an important federal office he can’t be sued in a state court. As the New York court noted, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear 20 years ago that the President’s office doesn’t place him beyond the reach of the courts in [_Clinton v. Jones_](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1996/95-1853), a case involving strikingly similar circumstances. (That was the sexual harassment suit brought by Paula Jones against President Clinton over his conduct while he was Governor of Arkansas.) In that civil suit, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a president can be sued in a civil case based on his personal conduct before taking office. For wrongful conduct not falling within his official duties, the President is subject to suit just like any other American. My organization Protect Democracy, a cross-partisan non-profit, filed the lone [friend of the court brief](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/0BAqCQWXWgFrNRA7IOhTRn?domain=protectdemocracy.org) in the Zervos case. We did so on behalf of three constitutional law professors who also filed a brief 20 years ago in the _Clinton v. Jones_ case. Although the political party of the President has changed, the arguments the professors advanced are the same: that the President of the United States is not immune from civil suit for his personal conduct. That principle is just as true in state court as in federal court. The New York Court got it just right in its opinion this week, explaining that “Nothing in the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution even suggests that the President cannot be called to account before a state court for wrongful conduct that bears no relationship to any federal executive responsibility.” Some people worried after _Clinton v. Jones_ that there would be a flood of meritless litigation against Presidents in their personal capacity just to harass them. But neither President George W. Bush nor President Barack Obama became the target of widespread vexatious litigation. That may not hold true for this President if he’s done things he shouldn’t have and for which the victims are entitled to seek legal relief. As a result of Tuesday’s decision, Zervos’s case can move forward, and the President will have to face her allegations like anyone else would. And if others have been harmed by a violation of state law by Trump in his personal capacity, they can too. The presidency affords Trump substantial power and privilege — but in our country, the law still reigns supreme. After this decision, it will be much harder for Trump to make the argument, “When you’re president, they let you do it.” _Justin Florence is the Legal Director of_ [_Protect Democracy_](https://protectdemocracy.org/)_, a cross-partisan nonprofit. He previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel in the Obama Administration. He tweets at_ [_@justingflorence_](https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/U8l1CPNGNWuM3m78uWkeOv?domain=twitter.com)_._ ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] When you're president of the United States, your word is gospel. Even when they're made off the cuff, statements from the commander- in- chief are treated as administration policy by his own aides, lawmakers, pundits, and the public. Somebody said treasonous. I mean yeah, I guess, why not. [ LAUGH ] That's tripped up Donald Trump a number of times since he got into politics. As a real estate developer, Trump has a habit of agreeing with everyone in the room. in order to get closer to a deal. That happened when a Democratic senator asked Trump if he would support a bill that would just protect undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. What about a clean DACA bill now, with a commitment that we go into a comprehensive immigration reform, Procedure. I have no problem, I think that's basically what **** is saying, we're gonna come out with DACA, we're gonna do DACA, and then we can start immediately on the phase two, which would be comprehensive. Would you be agreeable to that? Yeah, I would like to do that. He did have a problem. Many Republicans oppose the idea, strongly. And the White House later clarified that he would not like to do that, and wants border security measures attached to the bill. You cannot fix DACA without fixing the root cause of our problem. We do not have control of our borders. It's not just whilte negotiating, either. There's almost no suggestion that Trump will definitively rule out when asked. That means even an idle question from a reporter can elicit a jaw- dropping response As when he was asked if he would send the suspect in a New York City terror attack to Guantanamo Bay. I would certainly consider that. Send him to Gitmo. I would certainly consider that, yes. He did not consider that. The White House quickly backtracked on the idea, since the attacker was a permanent U. S. resident. Over the years, Trump also developed a habit of making empty threats to score a quick win during a controversy. That happened during the campaign when multiple women came forward to accuse Trump of touching them inappropriately. Everyone woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over. He did not sue. In fact when one of the women sued him, his lawyers argued that he was too busy and important to respond to the lawsuit. Like his predecessors, Trump also occasionally made promises during the campaign that he wouldn't keep. As he said he would release his tax returns, eventually. I don't mind releasing I'm under a routine audit and it will be released and as soon as the audit's finished it will be released. He has not released his tax return. Returns. Or when he said that he would give up his Twitter account if he won. Don't worry, I'll give it up after I'm president. We won't tweet anymore. [ NOISE ] Not presidential. He did not stop tweeting. In the end, Trump's say- anything approach may hurt him most, as fewer Americans take his words seriously, even if he is the president. 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