Trump deposition scheduled for next month in lawsuits filed by ex-FBI officials

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Sept. 28, 2023, 8:10 PM EDT


Former President Donald Trump will be deposed next month in connection with a pair of lawsuits filed by former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to a filing Thursday.

Lawyers for the ex-FBI officials said in the filing that Trump is scheduled to answer questions for two hours on Oct. 17. Strzok has alleged he was wrongfully terminated, while Page, who resigned as an FBI lawyer in May 2018, has argued privacy violations in relation to the public disclosure of her text messages with Strzok. A lawyer for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday about the coming deposition.

A federal appeals court this month denied the Justice Department’s request to block Trump from sitting for a deposition related to the lawsuits. FBI Director Christopher Wray and other top federal officials have already given depositions. The Justice Department had repeatedly opposed Trump’s testifying in the case, arguing previously that his deposition should be halted after several top federal officials delivered testimony that “revealed no substantial evidence” suggesting pressure from Trump had caused Strzok’s wrongful termination.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who ruled this year that Trump could be deposed, noted in a July order that he had “publicly boasted” about his involvement in the matter, which justified a closer look by way of a deposition. Trump’s deposition could be postponed amid a looming government shutdown if the Justice Department asks to pause civil actions in which it is a party. Lawyers for Strzok and Page said they would fight any effort to delay the deposition.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-deposition-scheduled-lawsuits-filed-ex-fbi-officials-rcna117953

[ancianita]

1. Which raises questions about funding justice.

Justice Department attorneys would continue in federal criminal cases “without interruption as an activity essential to the safety of human life and the protection of property.”

In civil cases, their participation would be “curtailed or postponed to the extent that this could be done without compromising to a significant degree the safety of human life or the protection of property.”

If a court orders the Justice Department's attorneys to continue in a civil case, that would be enough legal authority to move such cases forward. However, the Justice Department warned that the “receipt of summonses, pleadings and motions by mail may be delayed.”

The Congressional Research Service has offered some guidance about how the federal courts would determine which of its employees will stay at work and which employees are furloughed. The employees will get back pay when the shutdown ends.

“In the judicial branch, judges would not be subject to furlough, nor would core court staff and probation and pretrial services officers whose service is considered essential to the continued resolution of cases,” the CRS said in December 2018.

However, the Supreme Court Justices and all appointed federal judges will get paid. The Constitution's Article III, Section 1, says, “The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.”

Another possible outcome is that jurors won't get paid for their services immediately during the shutdown and the courts' ability to pay vendors would be affected. The Los Angeles Times said that in the Ninth Circuit, naturalization ceremonies and education programs would be stopped, and that some courts could close on days when no hearings are scheduled.

And the ability of public defenders and private attorneys who voluntarily represent the indigent to do their job is affected by the shutdown. One federal judge told NPR those factors could raise a basic Sixth Amendment question about the rights of the accused to a speedy and public trial.

“The old adage that ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ is true,” said U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy from Maine. “So I think we have to be concerned about challenges regarding the right to a speedy trial that we typically don’t face.”

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-will-the-federal-courts-function-if-the-shutdown-continues

Strzok and Page should be able to get the deposition.

[jvill]

2. So as usual, the Contitution is not a democratic document...

... pay the powerful, and let the common man starve, even if that means violating their rights as laid out in the same document.

[republianmushroom]

3. Good