Did Summer Zervos testify against Donald Trump in any civil proceeding and when?
Executive summary
Summer Zervos sued Donald Trump for defamation in New York state court in January 2017 after publicly accusing him of sexual misconduct, appeared in hearings connected to that suit, and ultimately dropped the case in November 2021; the sources reviewed do not show that she ever gave sworn testimony at a trial against Trump [1] [2] [3] [4]. Courts did permit civil discovery and raised the prospect of depositions — including the possibility that the president could be deposed — but the record in these sources indicates the litigation ended before any contested trial testimony by Zervos against Trump was completed [5] [3].
1. The lawsuit: filing and central claim
Summer Zervos filed a defamation complaint in New York state court in January 2017 saying Donald Trump harmed her reputation by calling her allegation of sexual misconduct a “hoax” and denying her charge that he kissed and groped her in 2007; the suit sought redress after Trump’s public denials during the 2016 campaign [1] [2].
2. Court activity and Zervos’ public appearances
Zervos appeared in court and at press events connected to the suit — her lawyers publicly pushed the case forward and sought document subpoenas that could have produced depositions of other accusers and of Trump himself — and New York judges at various points allowed the case to proceed despite defense challenges, producing multiple hearings and court filings through 2017 and later years [2] [4] [6].
3. The prospect of testimony and depositions
Federal and state rulings in this litigation included the notable question of whether a sitting president could be deposed in state defamation litigation; at least one federal judge permitted a presidential deposition to proceed as a legal possibility, and Zervos’ team pursued discovery that could have led to sworn testimony from multiple witnesses [5] [2].
4. How the case ended: withdrawal, not a verdict or trial testimony
After nearly five years of litigation and procedural skirmishes — including counterclaims and anti‑SLAPP filings from Trump’s lawyers — Zervos withdrew her defamation suit in November 2021 and the parties announced she received no money; contemporary reports describe the suit as settled or dropped rather than resolved by trial or a judgment obtained on the merits [3] [4] [7] [8].
5. What the public record does and does not show about her testifying
The sources reviewed document Zervos’ filing, multiple court appearances, motions and discovery fights, and the eventual withdrawal of her suit, but they do not report that she gave sworn testimony at a full civil trial against Trump; available reports emphasize procedural developments and the looming possibility of depositions rather than a completed trial testimony by Zervos [4] [5] [3].
6. Competing narratives and implicit agendas in coverage
News outlets emphasized different frames: outlets noting procedural closure reported she “dropped” the suit while her attorneys said she “stands by the allegations,” and Trump’s counsel framed the ending as vindication and noted no payment [7] [8] [3]; readers should note those competing messages reflect legal positioning — defendants and plaintiffs often publicize outcomes to shape reputations — and that anti‑SLAPP counterclaims and presidential‑immunity arguments influenced the litigation’s trajectory [3] [4].
7. Bottom line, with reporting limits stated clearly
Based on the reporting available, Summer Zervos did not testify against Donald Trump in a civil trial because the defamation lawsuit she filed in 2017 was dropped/settled without a trial and without reported sworn trial testimony by her; sources document court appearances, discovery fights and the eventual withdrawal in November 2021 but do not document a completed civil trial in which she testified against him [1] [2] [3] [4]. If further records — transcripts, deposition notices, or court dockets beyond these reports — exist showing sworn testimony, those are not reflected in the sources reviewed here.