Trump sex scandal

  • Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of sexually harassing her in 2007, is suing him for defamation because he called her and other accusers liars.
  • Trump's lawyers will argue in a New York court on Tuesday that the lawsuit should be thrown out because he is a sitting president.
  • But former President Bill Clinton was deposed while he was a sitting president over allegations of sexual harassment by Paula Jones. Later, when he was found to have lied under oath, he was impeached by the House of Representatives.
  • "People are going to find out who this guy really is," Mindy McGillivray, one of Trump's accusers, told Business Insider.
While everyone's talking about special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into the Trump campaign's communication with the Russian government, the president's lawyers are preparing for an altogether different case.

On Tuesday, in a New York state Supreme Court hearing, they're expected to try to have a defamation case against the president dismissed. If they fail, the president could be forced to testify on allegations that he sexually harassed more than a dozen women.

The suit was filed by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on "The Apprentice," who claimed last year that Trump "very aggressively" kissed her, groped her breasts, and began "thrusting" his genitals at her in a 2007 meeting at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Her claim is that Trump damaged her reputation when he called her a liar.

The hearing comes amid a torrent of scrutiny around sexual misconduct by powerful men in the US following bombshell revelations regarding years of alleged sexual abuse by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The allegations cost Weinstein his job and, subsequently, women have come forward with a variety of allegations against high-profile journalists, lawmakers, and executives.
Trump's lawyers are expected to argue that the suit against him should be thrown out or delayed until after his term on the grounds that a sitting president can't be sued in state court. Part of their reasoning is that a trial could distract Trump from his official business as president.

The experience of another US president — Bill Clinton — shows that this argument may not hold up. Clinton's experience also shows how, if Trump lies under oath, he could be impeached.
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