Trump ordered to sit for deposition next week in his defamation case against ABC News
President-elect Donald Trump has been ordered to spend part of the week before Christmas being grilled by lawyers in his defamation case against ABC News.
President-elect Donald Trump has been ordered to spend part of the week before Christmas being grilled by lawyers in his defamation case against ABC News.
Lawyers representing the broadcast network and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Friday morning argued in a virtual court hearing that Trump must make himself available for a deposition next week, before a Dec. 24 deadline for the defendants to file a motion for summary judgment to avoid a trial.
Trump has thus far not made himself available for a recorded deposition — to the apparent chagrin of the defense team.
“I can understand your frustration,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid said to Nathan Siegel, the lawyer representing ABC News. She noted that while the president-elect previously had a “fairly good argument” to be unavailable for a deposition during a busy election campaign, “he’s now a completely different posture, and he should be able to make himself available.”
Siegel offered to make the deposition as convenient as possible for the president-elect, telling the judge he would fly to Florida to interview Trump near his Mar-a-Lago home and limit the proceedings to four hours. He also suggested the possibility of a Saturday sitdown, if easier for Trump’s schedule.
Rating: 5