- Donald Trump may have his high-profile deposition in an ongoing class-action lawsuit postponed.
- Trump is awaiting Hurricane Ian at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
- Trump is accused of running a multi-level marketing scam.
The deposition of former President Donald Trump in a class-action suit, scheduled for Friday, may be delayed because he and his legal staff are still at Mar-a-Lago. Hurricane IanFlorida continues to be battered.
According to court filings, Trump’s counsel and his lawyers argued a short exchange Wednesday between them. The suit alleges that Trump used the reality TV program “The Celebrity Apprentice”, in order to promote a multilevel marketing fraud.
In A letterJudge Sarah Cave was informed by John Quinn that one of the plaintiffs’ legal representatives had been told by Trump’s team not to move the deposition from Bedminster to New Jersey despite the storm.
Quinn stated that Trump’s lawyer Clifford Robert called Quinn on Tuesday to inform him that Trump’s team was boarding a plane to Palm Beach.
“I expressed some surprise — I believe I used the word ‘walloped’ — but Mr. Robert indicated they were flying down anyway,” Quinn wrote in his letter.
He also stated that he couldn’t reach Robert or his colleague via phone or email Wednesday afternoon.
“Accordingly the last thing we heard was that defendants wanted the deposition to continue at Mar-a-Lago, Friday. Quinn added a map showing Hurricane Ian’s projected trajectory through Florida, with all due respect.
Trump’s legal team I repliedQuinn and his colleagues accused Quinn and the team of making “disingenuous, misleading statements” and attempted to cancel their deposition. Trump’s team requested that the deposition be held remotely in order to meet the court deadline for discovery.
Robert wrote that Plaintiffs had the nerve to ask that the deposition that Defendants spent a lot of time and resources planning be cancelled less than 48 hours before the scheduled date and time.
He claimed that the plaintiffs were trying to give the false impression Trump and his team are being “unreasonable.” He added that Trump would have been accused by the plaintiffs of refusing to appear if they had tried to cancel the deposition.
Robert wrote that President Trump was ready, willing and able to proceed with Friday’s deposition.
Cave granted Cave an extension of the deposition on Wednesday and stated in her DecisionShe stated that she did this “out of concern for safety of the parties and court reporter, videographer and any other required attendees” to the deposition. Trump must now sit for his deposition by October 31.
It is unclear whether Trump’s legal team will relocate the deposition to Bedminster or ask for it to be held later.
Insider asked Robert and a representative from Trump’s press office post-presidential for comment but they didn’t immediately respond.
Michael Cohen spoke earlier this week CommentTrump is likely to employ tactics from his “playbook”, in order to deal with his opponents Mounting legal troubles
Cohen, once Trump’s lawyer, said that “This playbook was delay, delay and delay.”
In October 2020 Yelena Dzhanova, InsiderAccording to reports, four plaintiffs sued Trump alleging they suffered losses of thousands of dollars as a result of a multi-level marketing campaign promoted on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” which Trump starred in from 2008 to 2015.
Trump earned $8.8 Million from ACN Multi-Level Marketing Company between 2005 and 2015. Per The New York TimesAn analysis of Trump’s taxes revealed that the amount was a lifeline which saved him from financial ruin.
Trump and ACN have denied wrongdoingAnd that the lawsuit was politically motivated.
