A federal judge who has suffered the election wrath of Donald Trump has allowed videotaped depositions of the Republican candidate for President to stay sealed, rejecting the request of major news media organizations, which wanted the videos from a lawsuit over Trump University to be made public.
"(C)ourts have historically extended special protections to the deposition testimony of sitting and former Presidents for reasons connected with protecting the interests of the Presidency," wrote Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who has been repeatedly lambasted by Trump during the 2016 campaign.
Curiel's ruling rebuffed a request from CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, The Washington Post, the New York Times and the Tribune Company, which argued the videos were of public interest because of Trump's bid for the White House.
You can read Judge Curiel's ruling here.
It was a split decision though for Trump, as in a separate motion, Judge Curiel ruled against Trump's bid for summary judgment and immediate dismissal of the Trump University lawsuit against him.
"Thus, the Court finds that Plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Defendant knowingly participated in the scheme to defraud," Curiel wrote, snuffing out any legal hope that Trump had to end this Trump University suit.
In his ruling, the judge noted that Trump himself - in his deposition - had acknowledged "that he was “not aware” of any marketing materials for TU bearing his name, likeness, or signature that he did not approve."
You can read Judge Curiel's ruling on summary judgment here.
So, Trump's videotaped depositions will stay sealed - but the lawsuit against him over Trump University and whether it was a scam, will proceed.
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