function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); President Donald Trump is trying to dodge a defamation lawsuit filed by a former contestant on The Apprentice by claiming the Constitution grants the president immunity against civil claims.Trumps lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, argued in a court filing this week that a Supreme Court hearing on a sexual harassment lawsuit against former President Bill Clinton sets precedent for such protection. Thats a bizarre claim, because Clintons attempt to declare presidential immunity was unanimously rejected by the high court.Summer Zervos, who claims Trump sexually assaulted her in a hotel room in 2007, filed the defamation suit in January, after Trump publicly branded Zervos and other accusers as liars. He said during the final presidential debate that the women just wanted 10 minutes of fame, according to court documents.In a Manhattan Supreme Court filing on Monday, Kasowitz said Trump intends to file a motion to dismiss this action on the grounds that the Constitution immunizes the president from being sued in state court while in office.The supremacy clause Kasowitz cites doesnt say that. It establishes that federal law generally takes precedence over state law. Kasowitz correctly notes that his interpretation of the clause has been heard by the Supreme Court before: during the sexual harassment suit filed against Clinton in 1994.But the Supreme Court declared unanimously that nobody ' including the commander-in-chief ' is above civil law, even if its unrelated to presidential business. In a 9-0 decision, the court ruled that Clinton accuser Paula Corbin Jones could continue with her lawsuit. The suit was later thrown out by a federal judge on different grounds.Kasowitz, who didnt return calls for comment, isnt looking to challenge the Supreme Court ruling. He said in his motion he just wants the trial court to follow the procedure followed in Clinton v. Jones ' which the Supreme Court approved ' to first adjudicate the threshold issue of Presidential immunity before reaching motions to dismiss Zervos lawsuit.Zervos lawyer, Gloria Allred, isnt having it.We do not believe that the President of the United States enjoys legal immunity from our defamation lawsuit, Allred said in an emailed statement. The United States Supreme Court addressed this legal immunity issue in Clinton v. Jones and determined unanimously that no man is above the law and that includes the President of the United States.Zervos seeks$2,914 in damages. It wasnt clear when Trump would file his motion to dismiss her lawsuit. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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