Boost for Trump as Cohen loses fees case and Zervos drops defamation suit
Donald Trump saw his former campaign chair and White House strategist Steve Bannon indicted on Friday, for contempt of Congress over the Capitol attack. But the former president also received two slices of good news from courts in New York.
In one development, Summer Zervos, a former contestant on Trump’s TV reality show who accused him of sexual assault, dropped her defamation lawsuit against him.
In another, a judge said the Trump Organization did not need to pay millions in legal bills to Trump’s former fixer and attorney, Michael Cohen.
Cohen sued the Trump Organization for failing to make good on a promise to pay legal costs resulting from his work. But on Friday a judge said Cohen had failed to prove the bills he incurred amid a criminal investigation and other lawsuits were related to conduct as an employee of the Trump Organization.
The alleged missed reimbursements included $1.9m for legal fees and costs, plus another $1.9m related to Cohen’s criminal case, according to Cohen’s 2019 complaint.
“In a nutshell, Mr Cohen’s legal fees arise out of his (sometimes unlawful) service to Mr Trump personally, to Mr Trump’s campaign, and to the Trump Foundation, but not out of his service to the business of the Trump Organization,” the judge said.
Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, said the decision was “unfair”. He also linked to a crowdfunding account in support of Cohen.
A longtime employee, Cohen became a critic of Trump while he was president, testifying that Trump directed him to break the law. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for his role in illegal hush-money payments to women to help Trump’s 2016 campaign and lying to Congress about a project in Russia.
Cohen has written a memoir and hosts a politics podcast and is close to completing his sentence under home confinement.
On Friday he tweeted: “Despite over 300 hours of cooperation and ‘CONTINUING’”, New York prosecutors, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the US justice department were “riding me ‘door to door’ on a matter they refused to bring against [Trump]. Another ‘9’ more days and done!”
Zervos is a former contestant on The Apprentice, the show Trump fronted for NBC before entering politics. She sued in New York state court in 2017, saying the then president had damaged her reputation when he said she and other women alleging sexual assault and harassment were making things up.
Friday’s filing said the case was dismissed and discontinued with pre
judice, meaning Zervos cannot file the same claim in state court in the future. The filing also said each party was responsible for its own costs.
Zervos accused Trump of kissing and groping her against her will in 2007, an allegation she detailed during the 2016 election. He denied it.
On Friday, the attorneys Beth Wilkinson and Moira Penza said: “After five years, Ms Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience.
“Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint and has accepted no compensation,” they said.
Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, called the decision to drop the case “prudent”.
“She had no choice but to do so as the facts unearthed in this matter made it abundantly clear that our client did nothing wrong,” Habba said.
Trump said: “It is so sad when things like this can happen, but so incredibly important to fight for the truth and justice. Only victory can restore one’s reputation!”
At least 26 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, harassment or assault, allegations he denies.
The writer E Jean Carroll has accused Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. She sued for defamation after Trump claimed she had lied about the incident to sell a book and said she was “not my type”.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2019, Carroll said she had “a crystal clear memory of most of [the alleged attack]. A lot of it is etched into my brain”.
She also described feeling Trump’s “shoulder against me. That was the weight I felt. He was big, and he had one of his topcoats on, so he had that against me, too. I remember the feeling of being pressed by his shoulder, my head bouncing against the wall. That is clear. It was so surprising.”
Carroll also showed the Guardian a loaded gun which, wary of threats, she kept on the bedside table.
On Friday, responding to news of Zervos’ decision to drop her suit, Carroll wrote: “Friends, I feel MORE determined to fight and win my defamation suit against Trump. In fact, as soon as the Adult Survivors Bill passes in New York, I will sue Trump for rape. My spirits are high! My attorneys are warriors!”
The Adult Survivors Act is a state measure that would grant sexual assault survivors the chance to sue after the statute of limitations has expired. It is modeled on legislation that allows people who were victims of abuse as children to sue without time constraints. The measure has not passed the state assembly.