Donald Trump’s legal troubles just got even worse for him
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 “bad trouble.” 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 it’s a prime example of how this clownish criminal’s numerous shenanigans have a way of coming back to bite him.
Carroll’s suit against Trump relates to a horrific underlying account of rape that she alleges took place in a changing room in New York City’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 Carroll’s book as “fiction.” He even denied ever meeting Carroll, a folly that was quickly refuted by a photograph. Trump’s disgraceful attack on Carroll’s credibility prompted her lawsuit.
On Thursday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Verna L. Saunders ruled that Carroll’s suit may proceed, despite Trump’s claim of immunity. Saunders cited Trump v. Vance, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that made clear that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause “does not” prevent a state court from hearing a case against a sitting president. Saunders ruled this applies to all such lawsuits relating to a President’s improper “unofficial/personal conduct.”
Although the Supreme Court’s recent action proved pivotal in Carroll’s lawsuit, it concerned the entirely separate matter of Trump’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, Trump’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 Carroll’s defamation suit to proceed.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Saunders also rejected as moot Trump’s lame argument that Carroll’s lawsuit must wait for a decision in a similar suit by former “Apprentice” 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 Trump’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 Trump’s “win” with his tax returns is now hurting him with Carroll’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.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month