Oct 5, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Judge: Trump must give deposition in Summer Zervos suit before Christmas

Axios

Summer Zervos, (R) a former contestant on "The Apprentice" arrives with lawyer Gloria Allred at the New York County Criminal Court on December 5, 2017, in New York. — Summer Zervos (right), a former contestant on "The Apprentice," arrives with lawyer Gloria Allred at the New York County Criminal Court in December 2017 in New York. Photo: Kena E. Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Trump must submit to a deposition before Christmas for a defamation lawsuit filed by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, a New York state court ruled Monday.

Why it matters: This would mark the first time that Trump would have to answer questions in court under oath since he took office in 2017.

Context: Trump won a delay in Zervos' defamation case in early January 2020 after arguing that sitting presidents could not be sued in state courts.

Details: In an order issued by Justice Jennifer Schecter of the New York state court in Manhattan, Trump faces a Dec. 23 deposition deadline after his attorney said the former president intended to countersue, per Reuters.

Clerk Michael Rand said during a virtual status conference on Monday that the pretrial questioning could go ahead because Trump was now a private citizen, ABC News reports.

Background: Trump responded in 2016 to accusations by over a dozen women, including Zervos, that he allegedly sexually assaulted or sexually harassed them by calling them "liars" with "100% fabricated" stories.

He retweeted a post that described as a "hoax" Zervos' allegations that he subjected her to unwanted kissing and groping in 2007.

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Judge: Trump must give deposition in Summer Zervos suit before Christmas

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