January 17, 2017

A Former Apprentice Contestant Just Filed a Defamation Lawsuit Against Donald Trump

Summer Zervos accused the president-elect of unwanted sexual assault.

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Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who was among a string of women to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct in the lead up to the election, announced on Tuesday that she is suing the president-elect for defamation, claiming Trump “maliciously” disparaged her and falsely claimed she was a liar.

“On November 11, 2016, I called on Mr. Trump to retract his statements about me calling me a liar,” Zervos, who is being represented by attorney Gloria Allred, announced in a press conference in Los Angeles. “I also called upon him to state that what I said about his behavior towards me was true. More than two months have gone by and he has not issued that retraction.”

She said that she would be willing to dismiss her case without monetary compensation if Trump admitted she had been telling the truth.

In October, Zervos claimed that Trump had groped her during a 2007 meeting where the two met to discuss hiring prospects within the Trump organization. The allegations came amid the publication of a bombshell 2005 Access Hollywood recording showing Trump bragging about groping women without their consent.

“Mr. Trump, when I met you I was so impressed with your talents,” she said in October. “I wanted to be like you. I wanted a job in your organization. Instead, you treated me as an object to be hit upon. I was incredibly embarrassed by your sexual advances.”

Trump vehemently denied the account, as well as the other sexual assault allegations that quickly emerged after the Access Hollywood recording. More than a dozen women came forward with sexual assault claims; Trump denied each one. He also dismissed his statements in the Access Hollywood recording as mere “locker room” banter.

“She knows that she will be attacked by Mr. Trump and his supporters and defenders, but she is willing to endure and suffer unwarranted attacks against her in order to vindicate her rights,” Allred said during Tuesday’s press conference.

Republican operative Cheri Jacobus filed a similar defamation lawsuit against the incoming president alleging he made statements against her that damaged her career. A judge recently dismissed the case.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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