Trump accuser subpoenas MGM, Beverly Hills Hotel for evidence in defamation case
Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice” who accused President Trump of sexual assault, has issued subpoenas for records in her defamation case against him.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Zervos subpoenaed MGM and The Beverly Hills Hotel to collect records supporting her claim that Trump defamed her by calling her a liar over the alleged assault, which she says happened off-camera while filming the NBC series.
“We’re gathering evidence that we believe will prove that the defendant lied when he falsely denigrated Ms. Zervos and when he denied sexually assaulting her,” said attorney Mariann Wang.
MGM owns the archives to Trump’s reality TV show and The Beverly Hills Hotel is where Zervos claims Trump groped her in 2007.
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The order asks MGM to turn over all “Apprentice” documents, video or audio that features Zervos or Trump talking about her, the Times reported.
It also seeks any recording in which Trump speaks of women “in any sexual or inappropriate manner.”
The subpoena for the hotel requests records of Trump’s stays between 2005 and 2009, as well as documents related to Zervos, Trump’s former bodyguard Keith Schiller and Trump’s assistant Rhona Graff.
Neither MGM nor The Beverly Hills Hotel responded to the Times’s request for comment.
Zervos was one of nearly a dozen women who came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign to accuse Trump of sexual misconduct.
She claimed Trump forcibly kissed her at meetings in New York and California following her appearance on his show. During one meeting about a job opportunity at The Beverly Hills Hotel, she said Trump grabbed her breasts.
Trump has denied the allegations and accused her of lying.
Three days before Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit alleging that she and her business were damaged after his derogatory statements.
A New York state Supreme Court justice ruled in March that Trump’s presidential office does not give him immunity and allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
Meanwhile, adult-film star Stormy Daniels on Monday filed a defamation suit against Trump — in addition to her ongoing one against his personal lawyer Michael Cohen — claiming “irresponsible and defamatory statements” about Daniels.
Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump, was paid $130,000 by Cohen as part of a nondisclosure agreement weeks before he was elected.