Post by mhbruin on Aug 8, 2020 11:39:33 GMT -8
A New York judge has rejected President Trump’s bid to temporarily halt proceedings in a lawsuit filed against him by the writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of rape, a ruling that allows the case to move forward in the months before the presidential election.
The decision was a victory for Ms. Carroll, who sued Mr. Trump last November for defamation after he called her a liar and said he had never met her. She published a memoir last summer that accused Mr. Trump of attacking her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in the 1990s.
Lawyers for Mr. Trump had sought to put the lawsuit on hold while an appeals court is deciding whether to dismiss a similar lawsuit filed against Mr. Trump by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who has accused him of sexually assaulting her.
In their bid for a delay, the lawyers also said the Constitution gave a sitting president immunity against civil lawsuits in state court.
On Thursday, Justice Verna L. Saunders in New York rejected their arguments, pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that concluded Mr. Trump could not block a subpoena for his tax returns by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
The Supreme Court ruling determined that the president did not possess absolute immunity against state criminal subpoenas.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers, who did not respond to a request for comment, could appeal the ruling.
For now, the ruling allows the lawsuit to enter the crucial discovery phase, in which both sides will exchange documents and other materials.
Lawyers for Ms. Carroll had requested that Mr. Trump provide a DNA sample to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress that Ms. Carroll said she was wearing at the time of the incident.
The ruling also means both Ms. Carroll and Mr. Trump could sit for depositions under oath in the coming months.
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The decision was a victory for Ms. Carroll, who sued Mr. Trump last November for defamation after he called her a liar and said he had never met her. She published a memoir last summer that accused Mr. Trump of attacking her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan in the 1990s.
Lawyers for Mr. Trump had sought to put the lawsuit on hold while an appeals court is deciding whether to dismiss a similar lawsuit filed against Mr. Trump by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who has accused him of sexually assaulting her.
In their bid for a delay, the lawyers also said the Constitution gave a sitting president immunity against civil lawsuits in state court.
On Thursday, Justice Verna L. Saunders in New York rejected their arguments, pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that concluded Mr. Trump could not block a subpoena for his tax returns by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
The Supreme Court ruling determined that the president did not possess absolute immunity against state criminal subpoenas.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers, who did not respond to a request for comment, could appeal the ruling.
For now, the ruling allows the lawsuit to enter the crucial discovery phase, in which both sides will exchange documents and other materials.
Lawyers for Ms. Carroll had requested that Mr. Trump provide a DNA sample to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress that Ms. Carroll said she was wearing at the time of the incident.
The ruling also means both Ms. Carroll and Mr. Trump could sit for depositions under oath in the coming months.
Full Story
