Trump news: President absent at Elijah Cummings funeral as his old calendar puts him at place of alleged sexual assault
Another wild day of news surrounding the White House
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The US Justice Department’s investigation into the origins of FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election hacking in 2016, instigated by Donald Trump’s attorney general William Barr and widely seen as a retaliatory measure to explore “deep state” liberal bias, is now “a criminal inquiry”, according to reports.
The president finds himself under renewed pressure as lawyers for Summer Zervos, a former candidate on his reality show The Apprentice who has accused Mr Trump of sexual assault, say their client has evidence to corroborate her claim that he attacked her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2007.
The calendar records, filed in Ms Zervos’ defamation lawsuit, show Mr Trump was scheduled to be at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California on 21 December, 2007, in the timeframe when she claims Mr Trump made unwanted advances at that hotel.
She said he kissed and groped her, despite her objections, at what she thought would be a professional dinner, and then invited her to meet him at his nearby golf course the next morning. The calendar records show he was scheduled there the morning after his arrival at the hotel.
Mr Trump’s calendar doesn’t include anything about a meeting with Ms Zervos. But her lawyer, Mariann Wang, wrote that the documents “strongly corroborate” Ms Zervos’ account — and indicate that Mr Trump was lying in a 2016 statement that said he “never met her at a hotel.”
Mr Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz said on Thursday that Ms Zervos’ claims are “entirely meritless and not corroborated by any documents.”
Ms Zervos, a California restaurateur who was on The Apprentice in 2006, was among more than a dozen women who came forward during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with allegations of sexual misconduct. Both she and Mr Trump are Republicans.
He called the women “liars” trying to harm him with “100 percent fabricated” stories, and he retweeted a message specifically calling Ms Zervos’ claims “a hoax.” He also issued a statement denying her allegations, including the denial of meeting her at a hotel.
Ms Zervos had approached lawyers in 2011 and sent Fox News an August 2015 email about her allegation, according to the filing.
“Trump Hit On Me,” read the email’s subject line. Sent two months into Mr Trump’s presidential campaign, the message said he “invited me to a hotel room under the guise of working for him. He had a different agenda.”
Ms Zervos is seeking a retraction, an apology and damages.
In her lawsuit, Ms Zervos said Mr Trump also kissed her unexpectedly at his office in Trump Tower in December of 2007, before the alleged California encounter.
Thursday’s court filing doesn’t include any calendar items related to that alleged encounter, but it does include emails from that autumn between Ms Zervos and Mr Trump’s secretary where they discuss a potential lunch date in New York.
Meanwhile, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is also in trouble after threatening a Washington Examiner reporter who asked her about her husband, a frequent critic of President Trump, prompting the journalist in question to publish a transcript of their phone call.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Donald Trump just picked up a Bipartisan Justice Award for the First Step Act, which seeks to reduce recidivism in the criminal justice system -
Reporters are sharing stories about their Rudy Giuliani butt dials after NBC News reported moments ago that one of their reporters received a three-minute voicemail from the president's personal attorney -
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s Justice Department to disclose “all portions” of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Some folks appear to be questioning whether Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's anniversary party at Camp David is a taxpayer-funded event since its on federal grounds:
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments