Trump completes questioning for lawsuit by protesters who claim his security guards assaulted them in New York

Former President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon completed several hours of questioning for a lawsuit that accuses his security guards of assaulting protesters outside of Trump Tower in New York City in 2015.

Trump’s videotaped sworn testimony, the first for any of the civil cases filed against him since he ran for president, could be introduced as evidence if the lawsuit goes to trial, a lawyer for the plaintiffs has said.

Trump in a statement later Monday said that he viewed the deposition as an opportunity to tell his side of the story.

Trump was questioned by that lawyer at Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the scene of the alleged assaults. The deposition, which was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., was ordered by the judge overseeing the case in Bronx Supreme Court.

Six plaintiffs, who are of Mexican descent, claimed in the suit that they were attacked and had their signs ripped from their hands by Trump Organization security staff during the Sept. 3, 2015 protest over Trump comments that they say were racist against Mexicans.

That staff included long-time former Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller, who is a defendant in the case, along with Trump and the Trump Organization.

“This is a case about Donald Trump’s security guards assaulting peaceful demonstrators on a public sidewalk,” said Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said last week after the judge’s order for Trump’s deposition became known.

“We will be taking the trial testimony of Donald Trump, under oath, on Monday after years of the defendants’ dilatory attempts to shield him from this examination. We look forward to presenting the video of Mr. Trump’s testimony to a jury at his trial.”

This is breaking news. Check back for updates.

TVWATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APPTVWATCH LIVEWATCH IN THE APP

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/18/trump-completes-questioning-for-protesters-lawsuit-alleging-assault.html