Lawyers worry shutdown will cause 'substantial delay' in Trump deposition: report

Attorneys representing ex-Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page shared their concern Thursday around the possibility that the expected government shutdown could defer an upcoming deposition of former President Donald Trump, Politico reports.

"Considering the lengthy effort that scheduling Mr. Trump's deposition required and that a stay might result in substantial delay of the conclusion of this action, Plaintiffs will oppose any stay and expect to promptly request relief from any default stay that is imposed," the lawyers wrote, according to the report.

Strzok and Page sued the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Politico notes, "claiming their departures from the bureau were improperly influenced by Trump," and their lawyers originally planned to hold "a two-hour Oct. 17 session with" Trump.

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Politico reports:

The effort to depose Trump has been laborious. An earlier scheduled deposition in the spring was postponed after the Justice Department sought to block it altogether, claiming that Strzok and Page had failed to present evidence that Trump’s conduct had any bearing on their departures from the bureau. But Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered a narrow and limited deposition of Trump despite DOJ's efforts.

The news outlet also notes:

The two former FBI employees were involved in Trump-related investigations in 2016 and 2017 before the public release of their private text messages by Justice Department officials revealed hostility and disgust with Trump. They’ve sued over the handling of those messages and claimed that Trump's public attacks on them contributed to the FBI's decision to fire Strzok and Page's resignation.

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Politico's full report is available at this link.