A judge has ordered Donald Trump to be deposed as part of a lawsuit filed by former FBI agent Peter Strzok, bucking a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Strzok filed the suit in 2019 against the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after claiming wrongful termination following the Russia investigation involving the former president. Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday rejected a DOJ motion that Trump not be deposed, to which the DOJ's lawyers argued that his presence as part of the proceedings was "not appropriate."
Trump is dealing with his own legal battles after being indicted twice, including most recently on 37 counts based on allegations that he mishandled classified documents. The DOJ recently requested that the trial date be moved back to at least mid-December so Trump's attorneys could obtain proper security clearance and have enough time and preparation to review the documents in question.
"While to the extent the individuals deposed to date recalled the events in question, their testimony did not advance plaintiffs' theory that the former President was involved in the decision making at issue in this case, the fact remains that the former President himself has publicly boasted of his involvement," Jackson wrote in a motion filed Thursday.
Trump's "schedule appears to be able to accommodate other civil litigation that he has initiated," she added.
TRUMP DEPOSITION: Despite a motion for reconsideration by DOJ, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the D.C. federal court has ordered that Trump must sit for a limited deposition in Pete Strzok and Lisa Page's lawsuit relating to the violation of their privacy/retaliation. pic.twitter.com/c9PWJ3JatY
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) July 6, 2023
The DOJ argued that Trump's testimony was "immaterial" due to testimony already provided by FBI Director Chris Wray, Trump's former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and others, according to CNN.
The lawsuit alleges that Strzok's firing "was the result of a long and public campaign by President Trump and his allies to vilify Strzok and pressure the agency to terminate him," according to ABC News.
Upon Strzok's firing, an inspector general report revealed anti-Trump text messages sent to FBI colleague and then-romantic partner, Lisa Page. Texts also showed Strzok's support for then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
One such back and forth between Strzok and Page in August 2016 included Page asking if he thought Trump would actually win the election and become president—to which Strzok replied that "we'll stop" Trump.
The report described their actions as a "willingness to take official action to impact [Trump's] electoral prospects."
The 20-plus-year FBI counterintelligence agent was removed from the Russia investigation following the inspector general report, even though he also worked on the Clinton email server scandal prior to the 2016 election.
The DOJ has argued that Trump's negative comments regarding Strzok, who sued the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following his August 2018 firing, were "immaterial" to the case at hand.
Trump used Strzok, as well as former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and others, as examples countless times for what he and a plethora of his supporters began to coin as the "deep state."
Newsweek reached out to Strzok, the DOJ and the Trump campaign for comment.
