Former Apprentice Star Says She Has Evidence to Back Up Claims Donald Trump Sexually Assaulted Her
Summer Zervos, one of the many women who came forward with sexual assault accusations against President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, says she has new evidence to support her claims.
Zervos appeared as a contestant on season 5 of The Apprentice, the popular reality competition show which Trump hosted on NBC, and claims he assaulted her in 2007 in a hotel room.
According to filed court documents obtained and published by CNN, Zervos says she has evidence in the form of emails, calendar entries and a polygraph test that illustrates her telling lawyers in 2011 about the attack, then again telling the story to Fox News in 2015.
Trump is being sued by Zervos for allegedly defaming her in his public denials of the sexual assault.
“The fact that plaintiff sought legal counsel in 2011 and spoke about this to others including a news organization — years before the events of 2016 at issue in this case — strongly supports the inferences that her core narrative is true,” Zervos’ lawyer Mariann Wang claims in the documents, which were filed on Thursday.
With the subject line, “Trump Hit on Me,” the August 2015 email to Fox News, included in the submitted evidence, describes the alleged attack in Zervos’ own words.
“I was on the Apprentice. After the show was completed, Trump invited me to a hotel room under the guise of working for him. He had a different agenda. Please contact me to speak further as I have tried to make contact,” the email reads, according to CNN.
Zervos’ lawyers also allege in the filing that Trump’s own calendar entries align with her claims, placing him in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hills Hotel at the same time Zervos claims to have been assaulted by him there.
Trump’s defense team told CNN it rejects the new filing, with lawyer Marc Kasowitz saying, “Ms. Zervos’ claims are entirely meritless and not corroborated by any documents.”
Zervos’ team contended that additional documents could further prove her case, but those papers are redacted as the Trump Organization withholds them due to their inclusion of his private phone number.
Wang did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
When she announced her plans to sue Trump in January 2017, Zervos’ lawyer at the time, Gloria Allred, said in a press conference: “Enough is enough. Truth matters. Women matter. Those who allege that there were victims of sexual misconduct or sexual assault by Donald Trump matter.”
A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to online.rainn.org.
