Hurricane Ian be damned, Trump demands to be deposed under oath at his Mar-a-Lago estate

Clifford S. Robert, one of Trump’s attorneys, argued vehemently against the investor’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, who suggested Trump’s deposition be moved to the former president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“We thought it absolutely absurd to travel from the New York area to West Palm Beach in the middle of a hurricane and would have been pleased to reschedule the deposition to another date, but plaintiffs insisted that it proceed,” Robert wrote in an email obtained by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reports that Trump has been battling the suit for years, but after his chances of it ever being dismissed and swept under the rug failed, he finally agreed to be deposed—but only at Mar-a-Lago, apparently.

Trump’s attorneys also rejected the suggestion of meeting via Zoom.

According to the lawsuit, Trump told investors about “tremendous” phones that were “at the forefront of innovation.” The phones were quickly replaced by smartphones and Skype, leaving investors high and dry and holding onto nothing more than Trump’s lies. Trump made $9 million promoting ACN products from 2005 to 2015, Bloomberg reported in February. 

The judge ultimately told both sides they would need to decide on the date but added the caveat that it must be held before Oct. 31.

As Daily Kos’ Mark Sumner eloquently writes, Trump has perfected the art of delay.

“Even before stepping foot in the White House, Donald Trump had been involved in a jaw-dropping 3,500 lawsuits. From all that time in court spent stiffing contractors, dodging people who paid for condos that were never built, and feigning ignorance over tax fraud, Trump demonstrated his biggest superpower: delay. Given enough money, and an unscrupulous attorney, Trump found the legal system offered endless opportunities for motions, appeals, and requests. In a lesson that came straight from his racist father and his legal mentor Roy Cohn, Trump learned early that it was possible to ride out most any storm through the magic of delay,” Sumner writes.

Knowing that the business of cleaning up after Hurricane Ian will take time, one can bet on the fact that his lawyers may say he’s insisting on moving forward with his deposition, but the reality is Trump’s attorneys will likely opt for another delay.