WASHINGTON — Haunted by Russia and beset by internal strife, Donald Trump’s White House is also increasingly being forced to confront allegations from the president’s past, as an adult film star, a former Playboy model and a onetime “Apprentice” contestant press court cases.
In court, on social media and with upcoming television interviews, these women are making allegations about Trump’s past sexual exploits. And while previous accusations have not derailed the thrice-married businessman, now they are surfacing in the context of the rising #MeToo movement.
The White House has little to say publicly about the accusations, which are only likely to get louder.
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006. She filed a lawsuit in California this week seeking to invalidate a confidentiality agreement with a company that owns the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer.
“This is not someone who signed a hush agreement and regrets it,” McDougal’s attorney, Peter Stris, said Wednesday morning on NBC. “This is someone who was taken advantage of by a consortium of interests, including a massive company that happens to be run by someone who is personal friends with the president of the United States.”
McDougal is set to do a Thursday interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN.
Trump is also under heightened pressure after a New York City judge ruled Tuesday that a defamation lawsuit by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice,” can move forward while the president is in office. Zervos has accused Trump of unwanted sexual contact in 2007 after she had appeared on the show with him.
It’s unclear whether Trump would have to appear at any of the proceedings, but Zervos’ lawyers have said they want to depose him.