DOJ loses on appeal in trying to block Trump deposition

The D.C. Appeals Court ruled Friday that former President Trump can be deposed in suits against the FBI brought by former agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

The Department of Justice appealed a ruling from a lower court in July, which came to the same conclusion. 

Strzok is suing the bureau for wrongful termination and Page is suing for invasion of privacy after the pair were embroiled in a political scandal due to work on the bureau’s investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia in 2018.

Text messages became public in which the pair spoke about how they personally disliked Trump, causing concern that the entire investigation was biased, later resulting in Page resigning and Strzok being fired.

“Only the most extraordinary of circumstances would justify allowing a plaintiff to depose a former high-level official about actions he took in the course of his official duties. This case falls far short of that standard,” DOJ attorneys argued in their appeal.

FBI Director Christopher Wray and former Trump chief of staff John Kelly already testified for the lawsuits, making Trump’s testimony unnecessary, the DOJ argued.

The appeals court ruled that District Judge Amy Berman Jackson properly considered the DOJ’s concerns about a former president being deposed and came to her conclusion justly.

“Having employed particular ‘deference and restraint’ considering the separation-of-powers concerns at issue, the district court ultimately concluded that ‘extraordinary circumstances’ warranted the deposition of the former President,” according to the ruling.

“Under these circumstances, petitioners have not shown that the district court’s conclusion was a clear abuse of discretion warranting mandamus relief,” it continued.

Kelly said in his testimony that Trump “wanted to see Mr. Strzok fired” and considered other retaliation.

“President Trump questioned whether investigations by the Internal Revenue Service or other federal agencies should be undertaken into Mr. Strzok and/or Ms. Page. I do not know of President Trump ordering such an investigation. It appeared, however, that he wanted to see Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page investigated,” Kelly said.

Trump has extensively spoken about Strzok and Page on social media.

The case now returns to Jackson, who previously said that she would allow Trump to be deposed for a short period of time on limited subject matter relevant to the suits.