U.S. President Donald Trump asked a New York state trial judge to put on hold a defamation lawsuit by Elle magazine advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of rape, saying a successful appeal in a separate defamation case could shield him from both lawsuits.
The president has been asking the New York State Court of Appeals to block Summer Zervos, a 2005 contestant on his reality television show "The Apprentice," from suing him for defamation while he is president, for calling her a liar after she accused him of kissing and groping her.
Trump, who has denied Zervos and Carroll's accusations, said in a Tuesday night court filing that the judge in Carroll's case would have no jurisdiction if the appeals court decided that Zervos' lawsuit must wait until after he has left the White House.