Judge denies Stormy Daniels' request to depose Trump
A federal judge has denied a request from Stormy Daniels' lawyers to depose President Trump as a part of the adult film star's lawsuit, CBS News' Paula Reid reports. The judge declared Thursday that the request for an expedited trial and discovery to be premature, and said there are other issues that need to be addressed first.
Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has filed a lawsuit in California asking the court to throw out a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) preventing her from discussing her alleged affair with Mr. Trump. Daniels claims the NDA is invalid, as Mr. Trump did not sign it.
What's a deposition?
According to the American Bar Association, lawyers will use depositions as a means to gain information from a witness. Through a deposition, an attorney will find out what the witness knows and doesn't know, and generally ask questions designed to educate themselves about the case. That information may later be used as evidence for use at trial.
On Wednesday, Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, requested a deposition "of no greater than two hours" for Mr. Trump to appear in court. Avenatti also asked for a court order to depose Mr. Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who has claimed he made the $130,000 payment to Daniels with his own funds and without Mr. Trump's knowledge. Earlier this week, Daniels amended her original complaint claiming that Cohen defamed her by insinuating she had lied about her encounter with the president, according to separate court documents obtained by CBS News.
Avenatti tweeted about the development on Thursday:
Here is an order from the Ct denying our motion as premature on procedural grounds. We will refile the motion as soon as DT, MC, and EC, LLC file their motion to compel arbitration seeking to hide the facts from public view. We expect this any day. https://t.co/H85pmKdISK
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 29, 2018
Following the decision, Cohen's attorney David Schwartz told CBS News Radio "He is not surprised at all" about the ruling and said "it was a premature motion."
He calls it a "sound decision" and expects other decisions made by the judge to be "favorable to Mr. Trump."
Schwartz says he expects the case to be kicked back to arbitration.