Shortly before the 2016 presidential election, Americans heard a recording in which Donald Trump was heard bragging about committing sexual assaults. The Republican said, among other things, that he kisses women he considers attractive – “I don’t even wait,” Trump claimed at the time – which he said he can get away with because of his public profile.
“When you’re a star, they let you do it,” Trump said on the recording. “You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the p—y.”
After Trump denied having done what he bragged about doing, more than a few women came forward to accuse the Republican of sexual misconduct – one of whom, Summer Zervos, is currently suing the president for defamation, after Trump insisted each of his accusers were liars.
Trump and his lawyers have spent months trying to make the case go away, insisting that a sitting president is immune to civil suits in state courts. As regular readers know, their efforts have come up short and the case is ongoing.
The Washington Post reported overnight on the latest revelations from the case.
Excerpts of President Trump’s private calendar from a dozen years ago made public on Thursday appear to show Trump was at a Beverly Hills hotel around the same time a former “Apprentice” contestant alleges he assaulted her there.
Email exchanges from 2007 also released Thursday show that the woman, Summer Zervos, had sought a lunch meeting with Trump in New York around the time she claims he kissed her inappropriately in that city.
The calendar records and email correspondence came to light in court filings related to Zervos’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against Trump in New York State Court.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, insisting he never met Zervos at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The president’s lawyer in this case, Marc Kasowitz, told the Associated Press yesterday that Zervos’s claims are “entirely meritless and not corroborated by any documents.”
Nevertheless, the latest details emerged as part of the discovery process in this case, and that process is ongoing. That’s of interest for reasons that relate directly to the defamation suit, of course, but there may be related implications.
As we’ve discussed before, Zervos’ representatives have raised the prospect of seeking, among other things, documents from the Trump Organization about the president’s alleged mistreatment of other women, as well as recordings from the archives of the president’s former reality show.
The Post‘s report added that a judge has set a Dec. 6 deadline for depositions, “meaning Trump may have to make a statement or answer questions under oath.”
That may be right around the time of the president’s impeachment in an unrelated scandal.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."