D****e
发帖数: 2283 | 1 Trump deposition video set for release
A video of Donald Trump testifying under oath about his provocative rhetoric
about Mexicans and other Latinos is set to go public as soon as Friday,
drawing new attention to those comments just weeks before voters cast their
ballots in the presidential race.
Trump gave the testimony in June at a law office in Washington in connection
with one of two lawsuits he filed last year after prominent chefs reacted
to the controversy over his remarks by pulling out of plans to open
restaurants at his new D.C. hotel.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Brian Holeman said in an order issued Thursday
evening that fears the testimony might show up in campaign commercials were
no basis to keep the public from seeing the video.
"This Court finds that Plaintiff has not demonstrated that any subject video
deposition contains scandalous, libelous, or other unduly prejudicial
material warranting denial of media access," Holeman wrote. "The public
shall not be held captive by the suggested eventuality of partisan editing
in a manner unfavorable to Plaintiff or the deponents."
Lawyers for Trump previously requested that the video of his deposition, as
well as those of his son Donald Jr. and his daughter Ivanka, be sealed, but
the judge denied that request. However, the videos remained inaccessible
because they were filed directly with judge's chambers and the court's
docketing system doesn't allow access to exhibits like videos.
Transcripts of the testimony in the suit Trump filed against companies
connected with restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian have already been made public.
However, last month, lawyers for a variety of news organizations filed
motions asking Holeman to release the videos. Pressing for the recordings
were Buzzfeed, CNN, The Washington Post, NBC, ABC, CBS, and The Los Angeles
Times.
Last week, the judge rejected motions from both sides seeking early
victories in the case. Trump's side argued that his comments in the context
of a political campaign could not legally amount to a breach of the contract
with Zakarian. Zakarian's lawyers contend the remarks, including references
to Mexicans as "rapists," made operation of the planned restaurant
untenable because of impacts on both staffing and business.
Holeman said too many factual issues remained in dispute and indicated the
case would have to go trial to resolve those questions.
The judge's decision to release the deposition videos is at odds with the
result reached last month by a federal judge Trump repeatedly excoriated. U.
S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling a pair of federal
lawsuits alleging fraud in the Trump University real estate seminar program,
declined a similar media request for the videos of Trump's depositions in
those cases. Curiel said there was no substantial public interest served by
releasing the videos, since transcripts in those cases were also public.
Holeman, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the D.C. case was
different, in part because no jury trial is expected.
"Here, in the absence of a jury trial, any concerns of undue prejudice
arising from selection of jurors are baseless," the judge wrote.
Attorneys for Trump and Zakarian declined to comment on the judge's ruling.
Trump is also pursuing a separate lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court against
companies connected to popular Washington chef Jose Andres. He also backed
out of plans to open an eatery at the Trump International Hotel in the Old
Post Office Building complex on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The hotel, which opened earlier this month, features a BLT Prime steakhouse.
While the other two planned restaurants would have been leased by outsiders
who were primarily responsible for the eateries' success, the steakhouse is
simply managed by BLT, with Trump's companies on the hook financially.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/09/trump-deposition-video-release-schedule-228953 | W***o
发帖数: 6519 | 2 politico is just junk, do not waste time on that trash site | t***i
发帖数: 204 | 3 Transcript不是都已经公开了吗？媒体就是想看看当时的表情？ |
|
