Donald Trump’s legal troubles just got even worse for him

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In stark contrast to the late civil rights icon John Lewis, it could be said that Donald Trump has devoted his entire life getting into โ€œbad trouble.โ€ In addition to appearing as a defendant in countless lawsuits, Trump remains the subject of highly credible and disturbing allegations covering a range of atrocities. A new twist in the defamation lawsuit against Trump by E. Jean Carroll is not only good news, but itโ€™s a prime example of how this clownish criminalโ€™s numerous shenanigans have a way of coming back to bite him.

Carrollโ€™s suit against Trump relates to a horrific underlying account of rape that she alleges took place in a changing room in New York Cityโ€™s Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. After Carroll published an emotional, detailed account in a book last year, Trump responded with his customary fake news routine, dismissing Carrollโ€™s book as โ€œfiction.โ€ He even denied ever meeting Carroll, a folly that was quickly refuted by a photograph. Trumpโ€™s disgraceful attack on Carrollโ€™s credibility prompted her lawsuit.

On Thursday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Verna L. Saunders ruled that Carrollโ€™s suit may proceed, despite Trumpโ€™s claim of immunity. Saunders cited Trump v. Vance, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that made clear that the Constitutionโ€™s Supremacy Clause โ€œdoes notโ€ prevent a state court from hearing a case against a sitting president. Saunders ruled this applies to all such lawsuits relating to a Presidentโ€™s improper โ€œunofficial/personal conduct.โ€

Although the Supreme Courtโ€™s recent action proved pivotal in Carrollโ€™s lawsuit, it concerned the entirely separate matter of Trumpโ€™s fight to keep his tax returns secret. Trump v. Vance, along with Trump v. Mazars decided the same day, gave Trump mostly a win on the narrow issue of his tax returns. However, Trumpโ€™s effort backfired because it also gave the Supreme Court the opportunity to rule that a President of the United States can be subpoenaed relating to state and local crimes, which paved the way for Carrollโ€™s defamation suit to proceed.

In light of the Supreme Courtโ€™s ruling, Saunders also rejected as moot Trumpโ€™s lame argument that Carrollโ€™s lawsuit must wait for a decision in a similar suit by former โ€œApprenticeโ€ contestant Summer Zervos alleging sexual assault by Trump. Now that Carroll has the green light to pursue discovery against Trump, it means she can seek Trumpโ€™s DNA to determine whether it matches unidentified male DNA found on the dress Carroll wore at Bergdorf.

Of course, nothing has been stopping Trump from willingly offering his DNA to support his empty allegation that Carroll is a liar. Just as Trumpโ€™s โ€œwinโ€ with his tax returns is now hurting him with Carrollโ€™s lawsuit, fighting back against discovery only makes Trump look guilty of the underlying rape. Trump likes to scare victims and enemies with threats and bravado, but as this latest twist reminds us, Trump is a clueless idiot who is trampling all over himself.

Dear Palmer Report readers: it's Bill Palmer. I'm as sick of Trump as you are. I'm expanding Palmer Report's operations so we can lead the fight against Trump. Click here to donate $25 or $50.