Amid a racy political season, Donald Trump’s lawyers are also working hard in two pending class action lawsuits involving the famed business tycoon. The suits, based largely on false advertising claims, relate to the now defunct Trump University (“TU”), where plaintiffs allege they were misled to spend between $1,500 and $35,000 to learn Trump’s “secrets” in order to build a thriving real estate practice.
In a recent motion, Trump’s videotaped depositions may have stolen the spotlight from the false advertising claims (albeit momentarily). The attorneys representing a coalition of news organizations want the judge to reject Trump’s request for a blanket order barring public release of all videotaped depositions for the two class actions. In Cohen v. Trump, Trump’s attorneys attempted to appease the media by agreeing to declassify the deposition transcripts previously marked as “confidential.” But the media is eager to get their hands on Trump’s taped deposition; they would like to watch Trump’s filmed deposition in full to read into verbal cues, body language, and temperament. This should not come as a surprise, as the Clinton campaign recently decided to go after Trump’s temperament to unsaddle him as a viable presidential nominee.
Should we be surprised that Trump’s attorneys are fighting to keep the videotaped depositions from widespread release? Not entirely; they claim the media will abuse the videos and turn them into preferential sound bites to fit a story line. I can see that happening, but is that not the risk one takes as soon as they step into the limelight, especially in our current 24/7 news cycle of infotainment?
Trump’s legal team also argues that past embargoes on videotaped testimony of sitting presidents should apply to Trump, as he could be the president-elect by the time the first of the two TU suits goes to trial on November 28. This is more of a stretch, and attorneys for the media argued:
“These particular access rulings did not arise in the context of an ongoing presidential campaign, let alone in an election campaign that has made the allegations in the litigation itself a campaign issue. The earlier cases involved depositions of current and former presidents; consequently, the courts were motivated by their unique ‘obligations under the Constitution to keep intrusions on the presidency to a minimum. The same cannot be said for a candidate running for the nation’s highest office, particularly where he has made the litigation an issue in the campaign.”
If the videotaped depositions are released to the public, it will be interesting to watch them in full and analyze Trump’s taped depositions under oath. Will we see the same persona that is presented across media in TV appearances and political rallies? Or will we see a different side of Trump? Was Trump sufficiently prepared to take the stand, or are the videotaped depositions akin to watching a train wreck happen in slow motion? Stay tuned, as U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel will rule on access to the videos July 13, five days before the opening of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
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