Judge dismisses lawsuit from ex-Trump campaign staffer alleging forcible kissing

A federal judge in Florida on Friday dismissed a lawsuit against President Trump and his 2016 campaign from an ex-staffer who alleged that the president forcibly kissed her, dismissing the lawsuit on a technical matter.

In his ruling, Judge William Jung wrote that former campaign staffer Alva Johnson could refile her lawsuit, but warned her not to include a wide range of unrelated allegations, including accusations from other women of both similar and unrelated activity of which Trump has previously been accused.

{mosads}Johnson was also advised not to include quotes from news reports in her next filing, according to court documents.

“Plaintiff may file an amended complaint within thirty days. Plaintiff should allege a simple battery in ten or fewer pages, including relevant factual allegations. Plaintiff should omit all reference to other incidents beyond her own alleged battery and omit any quotes from the press or media reports in her complaint,” Jung wrote in his ruling.

“The employment discrimination claims in Counts II and III, including relevant factual allegations, may not exceed fifteen pages in total,” he added.

Johnson filed her lawsuit in February, alleging that Trump grabbed her and kissed her without consent at a meeting with supporters in Florida in August 2016.

“He’s coming straight for my lips. So I turn my head, and he kisses me right on corner of my mouth, still holding my hand the entire time,” she recalled to The Washington Post in February. “Then he walks on out.”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who previously served on the Trump campaign, denied the allegations in a statement at the time.

“This never happened and is directly contradicted by multiple highly credible eye witness accounts,” she said.

In a statement to The Hill, Johnson’s attorney said that Jung’s ruling would force Johnson to fight in court with her hands “tied behind [her] back.”

“While we are pleased that the Judge said that Ms. Johnson ‘will receive a fair day in Court,’ today was not such a day. This erroneous ruling forces us to fight this lawsuit against the most powerful sex predator in the world with our hands tied behind our back,” said attorney Hassan Zavareei, who added: “But that does not deter us. We are used to fighting tough fights and will continue to do so here.”