Category Archives: Donald Trump

Donald Trump campaigned for candidates in Iowa, including Kim Reynolds, Chuck Grassley

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SIOUX CITY As he stumped for Iowa Republicans Thursday night, Donald Trump told his huddled, chilly fans that next weeks midterm elections are the first step toward a greater victory one, he hinted strongly, with him at the center.

In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, the former Republican president said, I will very, very, very probably do it again.

Everyone understood what "it" was run for president.

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, all eyes are on Iowa. Get updates of all things Iowa politics delivered to your inbox.

Outside the Sioux Gateway Airport, where frigid winds carried a strong stench of manure, the crowd cheered louder than it had all evening. They chanted his name.

Get ready, he said. Thats all Im telling you. Get ready.

Ostensibly, Trump came to deep red northwest Iowa Thursday night to stump for states Republicans, headlined by Gov. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. But his speech quickly shifted and fixated on Trump himself.

He spent a few minutes trumpeting what he described as wins for Iowa farmers, including negotiated trade deals with Canada, China and Mexico. He also complimented the candidates, making a point on how tough Grassley was.

But those comments were sandwiched among many claims about himself, launching into unproven accusations of voter fraud and debunked claims of rigged elections, endorsing same-day-only voting and paper ballots that he said would "save a lot of money" and promising to "make America great again."

He wrapped up the speech by connecting next weeks midterm election results to larger victories in 2024.

This is the year were going to take back the House, he said. Were going to take back the Senate. Were going to take back America. And in 2024 most importantly were going to take back our magnificent White House. Were going to take it back. We should have never left.

Trump has coyly suggested at recent events that he will run for president again in 2024, though he hasn't made any official declarations.

Thursdays visit comes as he is reportedly preparing to launch a new presidential campaign in 2024. Associates of Trump said they expect the former president to announce his candidacy shortly after Election Day but cautioned that the timing is up to him,USA TODAY reported.

Iowa will once again lead off the presidential nominating process with its Republican caucus in 2024, and potential challengers have already made stops in the state.

Iowa Republicans hope Trump's visit will fire up the partys base and drive turnout in critical midterm elections next week. Outside the event, the parking lot lawn featured the usual Trump-centric merchandise, with vendors hawking hats and flags and hoodies dedicated to the former president.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a firebrand Republican from Georgia, warmed up the crowd, taking the stage to hail her party's "one true leader" Trump.

"Republicans are going to have to be the new Republican Party," she said, urging on the crowd. "We can no longer be the party of Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Dick Cheney, George Bush and Mitt Romney or any other sell-out, weak Republican."

There were plenty of Iowans eager to hear that message. By 2:30 p.m., lines of people had already formed.

Bob Witchey arrived at the Sioux Gateway Airport at 10 a.m. Thursday, nine hours before Trump was scheduled to take the stage.

Witchey, a 61-year-old cattle rancher from ONeill, Nebraska, stopped by a vendors tent, bought a camouflage Trump 2024 hat and got in line with his fellow conservative diehards. They talked about the need for Republicans to take control of the U.S. House and Senate during next weeks elections, decrease government spending and arrest more immigrants at the Mexican border.

Witchey said he drove two hours to Sioux City on Thursday morning because the event was a once in a lifetime opportunity to stand with like-minded thinkers and see Trump up close.

I didnt wait for eight hours just to stand here, he said, shaking the green paper bracelet on his wrist that put him in a gated-off section near the stage. I want to be up front. Its kind of a trophy to me.

In fact, at Trumps urging, security let others into the gated-off section up front about halfway through the speech. Trump told the crowd it was a shame that the fake news media had a better view of them than they did. The event was also less crowded than some of his others, including his appearance in Des Moines last year.

Republicans were banking on Trump's Iowa visit to help stoke a red wave of enthusiasm and discontent that could help them wipe the board of Democrats, lifting lesser-known down-ballot candidates such as Republicanattorney general candidate Brenna Birdandauditor candidate Todd Halbur.

An October Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showsReynolds handily leadingher Democratic opponent, businesswoman Deidre DeJear. The same pollshows Grassley with his narrowest leadsince he was first elected to the U.S. Senate andsqueaky tight contestsin two of four U.S. House districts.

We're all fired up tonight," Reynolds told the crowd. "We're five days out, and we talk an awful lot about a red wave. And the only way that red wave is going to happen is if we build it. And in order to build it, we need you to show up.

Please help me get my own attorney general in Brenna Bird! Reynolds said to cheers. Bird is challenging longtime Iowa Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller.

Grassley also tossed some political red meat for the crowd.

"Im not going to give up on trying to get political bias out of the FBI," he said, drawing his biggest cheer of the night. "And Im not going to give up on my investigation of Hunter Biden and other Bidens."

Iowa Democrats were critical of Trump and Iowa Republicans who appeared with him.

While Kim Reynolds and Chuck Grassley pal around with a defeated former president who continues to attack our democracy, Iowa Democrats are busy knocking doors, meeting Iowans where they are and mobilizing voters," Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn said in a statement. Kim Reynolds, Chuck Grassley and the Iowa GOP take orders from their corporate donors, billionaire buddies and MAGA Republicans at the expense of Iowas working families.

In a counter-rally in Des Moines at the same time Thursday night, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Franken indirectly took aim at Trump and Grassley, emphasizing the importance of "country over party."

"Our campaign centers around country over party," Franken said. "But you know, I believe at the center of every campaign, every leader, every elected office must be the basic sense that its country over yourself. Even when theres money to be made, favors to be curried, its you second to the objective."

Midterm elections 2022:Who's on my ballot in the Iowa 2022 midterm election?

The former president has been on the road throughout October, holding rallies for Republicans across the country. But he remains a polarizing figure, and hes focused his attention on races where he can help drive his MAGA base without alienating potential swing voters.

Though he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump carried Iowa in both 2016 and 2020.

When he led the ticket as a presidential candidate in 2020, Iowa Republicans credited him with helping to drive a surge of voters that lifted GOP candidates across the board.

There is no question, (Trump) was a real force in the turnout of Republicans, Republican strategist David Kochel told the Des Moines Register at the time. Without the base being as galvanized as they were, none of our candidates would have been successful.

The Registers latest Iowa Poll shows that most Iowans hold unfavorable views of Trump, but most Republicans view him favorably.

The poll found 52% of Iowans say their feelings toward Trump are very or mostly unfavorable up from 45% who said so in September 2021. The number of Iowans who say their feelings toward Trump are very or mostly favorable has dropped to 46% from 53% in September 2021. Yet Trump earns favorable ratings from 83% of Republicans.

During Thursdays appearance, Trump largely stumped on his usual talking points about the countrys problems under Biden. He told the crowd that too many immigrants were entering the country, that cities like Atlanta and Chicago are too dangerous and that New York taxes people too much.

Iowa Poll: Most say its best for Iowas caucuses to retain first-in-the-nation status

He attacked communist Democrats for expanding the times when people can vote. He said the liberal party should not allow transgender girls to compete in girls' athletics, echoing a statement Reynolds made.

Trump also lashed out about the criminal probes against him.

They even raided Mar-a-Lago, he said. Can you believe it? They raided Mar-a-Lago. Spying on their political rivals. Silencing dissent and using the full force of government, law enforcement, and the media to try and defeat the greatest movement in the history of our country. MAGA! MAGA!

Trump again declared Democrats rigged the election against him an accusation that court after court has rejected.

"This is a very unfair thing to your favorite president," Trump said. "But what the hell? Ive been treated so unfairly. What the hell difference does it make? Your favorite president got screwed.

If Trump does officially run for president, he could have competition within his own party.

Other potential candidates have already begun flooding Iowa, which will hold its traditional first-in-the-nation Republican caucuses in 2024 to launch the presidential nominating process. They include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton.

Sisters Brenda Vodensteine, Barb Kreber and Julie Phillips came to Sioux City Thursday to feel energized before the election. They said they hope Trump runs again in 2024.

He has the guts to stand up, said 67-year-old Bob Phillips, Julies husband.

Hes the only one whos fearless enough, added Vodensteine.

Hes got common sense, Kreber said.

We had prosperity (when he was in office), Vodensteine said. We had safety.

And we had common sense, Kreber said.

Bill Wood, 70, of Galva, said he wasnt so sure about a 2024 run for Trump. He wants to see how a primary shakes out, and he's interested in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Wood, a retired manager at the Tyson Foods pork processing plant in Storm Lake, said Republicans need to take control of Congress, force government officials to patrol the border more intensely and spend less money.

Greene, a Republican U.S. representative known for espousing right-wing conspiracy theories, helped rally the crowd before Trump's arrival. She decried rising inflation and high rates of crime.

But the only crime victim you hear about from Democrats and the media is Paul Pelosi," she said, drawing boos from the crowd.

Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was brutally assaulted by a man who broke into his San Francisco home looking for his wife.

"Paul Pelosi should have been a gun owner and shot his attacker," Greene continued. "But Democrats in the media completely ignore horrific crimes against Americans every day.

Greene also called for a "new Republican Party" in order to "truly save America" and called out Republicans whom Grassley has served with, such as McConnell, McCain and Romney, dismissing them as sellouts who hold "hands with Democrats and serves the globalist agenda that is the enemy of us all.

"Everyone knows the one true leader of the Republican Party, and that's my favorite president and yours, Donald J. Trump.

Iowa Poll:Most Iowans disapprove of President Joe Biden, say US is on the wrong track

Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her atbpfann@dmreg.comor 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at@brianneDMR.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him attjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at@LetsJett.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Donald Trump teases Iowa crowd: 'I will very, very, very probably' run for president

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Donald Trump teases Iowa crowd: 'I will very, very, very probably' run ...

1. Donald Trump Might Announce White House Run On The Day Hes Scheduled To Testify Before January 6 Committee  Vanity Fair
2. House January 6 panel grants Trumps request for extension to subpoena  The Guardian US
3. Trump is supposed to give subpoenaed documents to Jan. 6 committee on Friday  NPR
4. House January 6 committee gives Trump more time to turn over subpoenaed documents  CNN
5. Jan. 6 committee extends subpoena deadline after Trump doesn't hand over documents  NBC News
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Donald Trump Might Announce White House Run On The Day Hes Scheduled To Testify Before January 6 Committee - Vanity Fair

Donald Trump, His Son and Hope Hicks Have All Been Deposed in Lawsuit Accusing Ex-President of Promoting Pyramid Scheme, Lawyers Say  Law & Crime

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Donald Trump, His Son and Hope Hicks Have All Been Deposed in Lawsuit Accusing Ex-President of Promoting Pyramid Scheme, Lawyers Say - Law & Crime

Donald Trump juiced his ride-or-die devotion to election-fraud lies this week in a podcast chat with far-right conspiracy theorist Dinesh DSouza.

Trump said people voted 28 times in the 2020 election to cheat him out of a second term in office. (Watch the video below.)

DSouza directed 2,000 Mules, the film that purports to prove vote-fraud claims but has been dismissed as endlessly debunkable by HuffPost and other outlets. The so-called documentary insists that Joe Biden-supporting ballot mules inserted armloads of votes into several drop boxes.

DSouza, whom the former president pardoned in 2018 after DSouza pleaded guilty in 2014 to making an illegal donation to a GOP Senate candidate, asked Trump: It seems to me that what youre saying is that you think that there was cheating all different ways. 2,000 Mules may have captured one of the ways, but there were other formers of cheating going on as well, correct?

Yeah, 2,000 Mules was one way, Trump replied. That was a very conclusive way because you were taking government tapes. ... And then, of course, they voted six, seven, eight times. As much as they could in the local area. Some of the people went back, I guess they said 28 times in one day, to vote at different places.

Trump did not say where he got the figure. An executive producer of 2,000 Mules claimed on Fox News earlier this year that the average amount of visits by said mules was 38.

Trump alleged the ballot stuffers didnt overdo it because that would have been detectable. Theyre very smart, Trump said.

Trump continues to promote his election lies as he teases his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. A poll last month showed Republicans loyalty to him was dipping.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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Donald Trump Makes Perhaps His Wildest Claim Yet About 2020 Election

1. Musk owns Twitter and Washington awaits Trump's return  POLITICO
2. Did Donald Trump issue a statement after Elon Musk takeover of Twitter saying his account is set to be back Monday? Not quite  OpIndia
3. Donald Trump's Twitter Return Expected as Musk Set to Reverse Ban  Newsweek
4. Elon Musk Fired a Twitter Exec Who Kicked Trump Off the Platform  Business Insider
5. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Musk owns Twitter and Washington awaits Trump's return - POLITICO

Mary Trump, an avid critic of former President Donald Trump and his niece, said on Saturday that her uncle's business would be "deceased" as the Trump Organization continues to face a number of issues related to its business practices.

During a Saturday episode of The Mary Trump Show, the former president's niece spoke about the presence of the Secret Service at Trump hotels.

"...the soon-to-be deceased Trump Organization charged the Secret Service like five times the government limit to stay at his sh**** hotels, we're learning," Mary Trump said. "We've learned thatand this to me, I will never cease to understand why this wasn't made a bigger dealthat he politicized it."

Her remarks are in reference to the released report on Monday by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which revealed that Trump hotels allegedly charged the Secret Service as high as $1,185 per night on dozens of trips to protect Trump even after he left the White House. This figure is five times more than the recommended government rate for hotel stays while protecting him and those around him.

The Trump Organization said that Secret Service agents traveling with Trump to the properties he owned stayed for free or at cost, but the committee's report said otherwise.

The former president reportedly visited his properties 547 times, including 145 visits to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, while in office.

Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, wrote a letter to Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, last Monday asking the agency to comply with the committee's investigation request.

"The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents' frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President's self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump's struggling businesses," Maloney wrote.

Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, recently told Newsweek that the agency is reviewing the committee's letter and costs associated, and will respond with whatever documentation is necessary by the October 31 provided deadline.

"It is absolutely necessary that the presidential detail is within hands touch of the protectee," he added.

Trump is also facing a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James that seeks at least $250 million in repayment for allegedly fraudulent practices and wants to remove Trump's family members, including Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka, from their positions within the Trump Organization.

James alleged that the Trumps committed "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentations" and that the ex-president "grossly" inflated his net worth by billions of dollars. She also accused him of cheating lenders and others with false and misleading financial statements.

Last month, Trump's ex-personal attorney Michael Cohen said that the lawsuit leaves Trump facing "the worst situation that he's ever been in, which is criminal liability."

Cohen also said that James' lawsuit could "wipe him out" financially if a court demands he pay restitutionadding that the former president could be ordered to pay much more than the $250 million "baseline" mentioned in James' lawsuit.

James also referred alleged criminal violations to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"Let's see if the Southern District of New York, that's no longer under his control, will pick up the mantle," Cohen said. "IRSit's an open and shut case. Numbers don't lie. People do. And Donald is one of the biggest liars that you'll ever meet."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's media office for comment.

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Donald Trump's Company Is 'Soon-to-Be Deceased,' Mary Trump Predicts

1. Opinion | The Awesome Futility of Interviewing Donald Trump  POLITICO
2. Bob Woodward Thinks You Should Listen to His Trump Tapes  The Atlantic
3. The Trump Tapes reveal much about Bob Woodward, Donald Trump  NPR
4. Opinion | Bob Woodward says his interviews with Donald Trump show just how dangerous Trump can be  Poynter
5. Bob Woodward on Donald Trump: "He is a threat to democracy"  CBS News
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Opinion | The Awesome Futility of Interviewing Donald Trump - POLITICO

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the America First Policy Institute Agenda Summit in Washington, DC, on July 26, 2022. Trump is scheduled to be deposed in a defamation case brought by a woman who claims he raped her in the 1990s.

Donald Trump is set to appear at a deposition hearing as part of a long-running defamation case relating to a woman who alleges the former president raped her in the 1990s.

Earlier this month, New York District judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to answer questions under oath in relation to the claims made by magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Carroll said that the former president smeared her character when he denied allegations he raped her at a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Carroll filed her suit in 2019, with Trump's legal team spending three years fighting the case.

Trump Ordered To Testify In E. Jean Carroll Rape Defamation Case

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Trump is now expected to sit for the deposition at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday.

Carroll sued Trump for defamation in November 2019, claiming that he defamed her character when he denied the allegations that he raped her in a dressing room of the New York City department store.

The suit said that Trump accused Carroll of lying about the alleged assault to sell books and "make money" as well as falsely suggest she made up other rapes. It argued that the former president also publicly mocked her appearance.

Trump denied the rape claims, telling The Hill in 2019 "she's not my type."

The former president also said he had never met Carroll. In June 2019, New York Magazine published an excerpt from Carroll's book What Do We Need Men For? which detailed the allegation and featured a photo of Carroll, Trump, his then-wife Ivana Trump, and Carroll's then-husband at an NBC party around 1987.

A deposition hearing is a sworn question-and-answer session, in which people must testify under oath outside of a courtroom session.

The hearings are an opportunity for parties in a civil lawsuit to obtain testimony from a witness prior to trial. It is part of the discovery process by which parties from all sides can gather relevant information before presenting their cases.

If someone subjected to a deposition refuses to attend, they could be found in contempt of court. Providing false statements during a deposition hearing could also result in perjury charges.

However, a client may also invoke their fifth amendment right to avoid self-incrimination during their deposition hearing and refuse to answer questions fully.

Since the suit was filed in September 2019, Trump has denied the allegations and has repeatedly sought to dismiss and delay the proceedings.

Trump's legal team previously asked the courts to delay the deposition hearing until a separate defamation lawsuit by former The Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos was settled.

A New York State Supreme Court eventually rejected Trump's request in August 2020. Zervos, who also accused the former president of sexual assault, dropped her suit in November 2021.

In 2020, the Trump administration also sought to have the United States government replace the then-president as the defendant in the Carroll case, with the Department of Justice arguing that Trump was acting within the scope of a federal employee when he denied the allegations from the writer.

Judge Kaplan rejected that attempt for the DOJ to intervene in the case.

Trump's attorney Alina Habba argued last month that the deposition should be delayed while the question of whether Trump was acting as a federal employee while denying Carroll's allegations was considered on appeal. Kaplan once again rejected Trump's legal team's attempts to have the deposition delayed.

"As the Court noted in an earlier opinion in this case, 'defendant's litigation tactics have had a dilatory effect and, indeed, strongly suggest that he is acting out of a strong desire to delay any opportunity plaintiff may have to present her case against him,'" Kaplan wrote in his ruling.

"The defendant should not be permitted to run the clock out on plaintiff's attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong."

Trump continues to deny the allegations.

In a lengthy October 12 statement, the former president dismissed the evidence that he knew who Carroll was while once again suggesting his accuser is "not my type."

"I don't know this woman, have no idea who she is, other than it seems she got a picture of me many years ago, with her husband, shaking my hand on a reception line at a celebrity charity event. She completely made up a story that I met her at the doors of this crowded New York City Department Store and, within minutes, 'swooned' her," Trump said.

"It is a Hoax and a lie, just like all the other Hoaxes that have been played on me for the past seven years. And, while I am not supposed to say it, I will. This woman is not my type!"

Trump added that he is prepared to go through "years more of legal nonsense" in order to "clear my name of her and her lawyer's phony attacks on me."

There is currently a routine order allowing both Trump and Carroll to keep their depositions confidential throughout the pretrial discovery process, meaning details of the line of questioning will almost certainly not be known at this time.

Despite the update to one of many of Trump's legal battles taking place just weeks ahead of the November 8 midterms elections, Thomas Gift, founding director of University College London's Centre on US Politics, said Trump's deposition will not influence the outcome of election results or damage the former president's reputation.

"Regardless of whether Trump decides to answer questionsand my inclination is he won'tthe political implications of the hearing are likely to be minimal," Gift told Newsweek.

"Trump has been rocked by so many scandals and allegations of wrongdoing that almost every single case now tends to get lost in the haze. If anything, being hauled in to offer testimony gives Trump another opportunity to claim he's the victim herethe target of a systematic, Democrat-led witch hunt designed to take him down by any means necessary.

"If January 6, Ukraine, Russia-gate, and the multitude of other charges against Trump didn't budge his favorabilities among the right-wing base, this case most certainly won't move the needle," Gift added.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's legal team for comment.

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Donald Trump Deposition at Mar-a-Lago as He's Asked Questions Under Oath

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held at the Hilton Anatole on August 06, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. CPAC began in 1974, and is a conference that brings together and hosts conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders in discussing current events and future political agendas.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump is set to be deposed Wednesday for a civil lawsuit accusing him of defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her.

Trump on Oct. 12 lost his bid to delay being questioned under oath by Carroll's lawyers when a federal judge brushed aside arguments that a pending appeal in the lawsuit warranted putting the case on hold.

The timing of Trump's deposition and its location were not immediately available Wednesday.

"We do not have those details and do not have a comment," said a spokesman for Carroll's lawyer, Roberta "Robbie" Kaplan.

Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Carroll was scheduled to have been deposed for the case last Friday.

A trial in the case is scheduled for February.

Even if that trial is put on hold, or outright canceled as the result of the pending appeal, Carroll plans to sue the 76-year-old Trump in New York state court next month under a new law that lifted the statute of limitations for claims of rape and sexual abuse.

Carroll's lawyers could use Trump's Wednesday deposition in that planned suit.

The deposition comes two months after Trump refused to answer questions under oath in a deposition by attorneys for New York Attorney General Letitia James in connection with a civil investigation of his company, the Trump Organization. Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 440 times in that deposition.

James last month sued Trump, his company, three of his adult children and others, alleging widespread fraud involving allegedly false financial statements related to the company's business. James is seeking at least $250 million in damages in that case, as well as sanctions.

Carroll, 78, in a 2019 New York magazine article, accused Trump of raping her in a dressing room in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s after a chance encounter in the store.

Trump, who was president at the time the article appeared, responded that Carroll was lying and motivated by money and political considerations to concoct the account.

Carroll then sued Trump for defamation in New York state court.

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The case was transferred a year later to U.S. District Court in Manhattan as the Department of Justice, then under the control of the Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr, sought to replace Trump as the defendant in the case. The department argued that because Trump was president at the time he allegedly defamed Carroll, the government had the power to step in and act as the defendant because he was a government employee.

If the DOJ was allowed to do so, it would effectively end the lawsuit. Under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the federal government has the power to deny plaintiffs the right to sue it.

Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected that bid. "The President of the United States is not an employee of the Government within the meaning of the relevant statutes," he said in a ruling.

"Even if he were such an employee, President Trump's allegedly defamatory statements concerning Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment," wrote Kaplan, who is not related to Carroll's attorney.

The DOJ appealed Kaplan's ruling.

In September, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Kaplan's ruling on the question of whether Trump was acting as a government employee at the time he replied to Carroll's article. But the appeals court also asked its sister appeals court in Washington, D.C., to rule on whether Trump made the statements about Carroll within the scope of his employment, as defined by local District of Columbia law.

The D.C. federal appeals court has not yet ruled on that question.

Kaplan, in his decision last week, said that Trump was not entitled to delay his deposition pending the outcome in the D.C. court because he had not shown a required strong likelihood of success on that question.

Kaplan also wrote that there was reason to believe that Trump was continuing to engage in delaying tactics in the litigation and that the "advanced age" of both Trump and Carroll was a reason not to further postpone action in the case.

"The defendant should not be permitted to run the clock out on plaintiff's attempt to gain a remedy for what allegedly was a serious wrong," Kaplan wrote.

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Trump set to be deposed in rape-defamation lawsuit by writer E. Jean Carroll - CNBC

Donald Trump acknowledged in 2019 that letters he wrote to Kim Jong-un and later took with him upon leaving the White House were secret, according to recordings of an interview he gave to journalist Bob Woodward that call into question the credibility of one of Trumps main defenses in the investigation into his unauthorized retention of government files.

In December of that year, Trump shared with Woodward the letters that Kim had written to him, saying, Nobody else has them, but I want you to treat them with respect and dont say I gave them to you, OK? according to recordings obtained by CNN and The Washington Post on Tuesday.

When, in a phone call the following month, Woodward asked to see what Trump had written to the North Korean leader, the president replied: Oh, those are so top secret.

The comments contradict Trumps claim that he took no government secrets with him upon leaving the White House in January 2021. In reality, the National Archives, which is tasked with preserving the records of former presidents, spent much of 2021 trying to get the Kim letters back from Trump, only succeeding earlier this year.

The statements, included in The Trump Tapes: Bob Woodwards Twenty Interviews with President Trump set for release on Tuesday, also raise questions about the credibility of his defense to allegations that he illegally kept government secrets at his south Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.

The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August and carted away reams of documents, sparking a court battle after the former president claimed some of the papers were protected by executive or attorney-client privilege.

The letters to Kim, written by Trump as part of his administrations attempt to defuse nuclear tensions with North Korea, show his apparent admiration for the leader of one of the worlds most repressive regimes. The two men exchanged birthday greetings and best wishes for friends and family, according to English translations of the letters that the Post reported are included in a written transcript of the audiobooks.

During his visits to the White House, Trump asked Woodward about the documents, and if he had made a Photostat of them or something. Woodward replied that he had dictated them into his recorder.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Woodward, an associate editor at the paper who is best known for his work uncovering the Watergate scandal, said Trump allowed him to handle the documents in a West Wing office as an aide watched. The documents contained no obvious classification markings, Woodward said.

In the audiobook, Woodward described the casual, dangerous way that Trump treats the most classified programs and information, as weve seen now in 2022 in Mar-a-Lago, where he had 184 classified documents, including 25 marked top secret.

He was talking specifically about Trumps comment that he built a weapons system that nobodys ever had in this country before. We have stuff that you havent even seen or heard about.

Referring to Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, Trump remarked to the journalist: We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before.

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Trump admitted letters to Kim Jong-un were secret, audio reveals - The Guardian US