Judge allows Manhattan DA to subpoena Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll trial.

A New York Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Manhattan District Attorney’s‌ Office

A New⁢ York federal Judge ruled Thursday that ​the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office can subpoena a ⁢deposition used ⁢in ⁢the civil‍ trial for E. Jean Carroll after ​prosecutors said it contained ‍information relevant to former‍ President Donald Trump’s​ alleged “hush money” case.

Subpoena Issued for Trump’s Video⁣ Deposition

The ​Manhattan District⁣ Attorney’s Office⁤ issued a subpoena on June 20 to obtain information ⁣related to Trump’s ⁣video deposition in the Carroll case. District Attorney Alvin Bragg ​charged the former president earlier ⁤this year with 34 felony counts of falsification‌ of business records related‍ to a payment his former attorney made to ‌porn‍ star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 presidential election, and Trump pleaded not guilty to the ⁤charges in April.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Wednesday that Bragg would be allowed to obtain Trump’s full video deposition, transcripts,⁣ and ‍related exhibits from ⁤Carroll’s lawsuit,⁣ according to a two-page filing.

Trump’s Legal Battles ‌Continue

Trump was ordered ​on May ​9 in a separate court battle to pay roughly million in ‌damages after⁢ a New York jury found him liable for ⁢defamation after he denied raping ⁤Carroll in the mid-1990s.‌ The former president is in the ​process of appealing the civil suit decision and is grappling with a similar defamation lawsuit also​ filed ⁢by ‌Carroll.

Prosecutors with​ Bragg’s⁣ office sought additional details that weren’t made publicly available in the deposition from Carroll’s trial, arguing that “the way in which defendant dealt with allegations of ⁣a sexual nature by women in the ‌months leading up to the 2016​ presidential election is clearly relevant to the allegations ⁤in the People’s case.”

In ⁢filings that ‍have⁢ not been made public,‌ Trump’s lawyers sought ​to shield a variety of communications between Trump Organization employees and White House staff between Inauguration Day 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017. A separate effort to subpoena Melania​ Trump’s emails failed,⁣ with a different judge ruling the subpoenas were overly broad.

Bragg’s‌ office alleged Trump‌ engaged ⁢in a “catch and kill” ​scheme to suppress damaging information ahead ⁣of the 2016 election and then allegedly falsified records to conceal three payments,‍ including a $130,000 payment that Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen paid to ‌Daniels. His March 30 indictment marked the first⁢ time a ⁢former president had ever been charged with crimes.

Trump was indicted again in⁢ a separate federal case ⁤on June 9, and prosecutors led by special counsel ‍Jack Smith initially accused him of 37 felonies related to the “willful retention” of classified records. On July 27, Smith’s office added three more counts against Trump, including two new ‍obstruction​ counts and one additional account of willful retention of a ‍classified document.

Order Comes Before Third Arraignment

Kaplan’s Thursday order comes just hours before​ Trump is set ​to face his third arraignment after he was ⁤charged this week with four felony counts in an investigation related to ⁤alleged efforts to ​subvert the 2020 ‌election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He is facing one count of conspiracy⁣ to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy ​to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of‍ obstruction of an attempt ‌to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count ⁤of conspiracy against rights.

Trump posted on Truth ⁢Social just before noon that he ⁤was headed to the nation’s capital for his expected 4 p.m.⁢ arraignment.

“I⁣ AM NOW GOING TO WASHINGTON, D.C., TO BE ARRESTED FOR HAVING CHALLENGED A CORRUPT,​ RIGGED, & STOLEN ELECTION,” ⁣he ‌wrote. “IT IS A GREAT HONOR, BECAUSE I ‌AM BEING ARRESTED ⁢FOR YOU. MAKE AMERICA⁤ GREAT AGAIN!!!”