A Washington, D.C. judge ruled on Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump must appear in New York City for a possible 7-hour deposition in the first week of January.
This is a result of Trump suing celebrity chef Jose Andres for breach of contract, after Andres backed out of a plan to open a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel, just minutes from the White House.
Trump’s Remarks About Mexicans Tanked The Restaurant
Andres, who was born in Spain, claims that he canceled plans for the project after Trump made disparaging remarks about Mexicans during his campaign. The chef says that these comments made it difficult to attract Hispanic staff and customers, as well as to raise money for the Spanish restaurant.
Donald Trump’s attorneys had previously agreed to a deposition in New York City, but were attempting to limit its length and the scope of the questioning. They argued that:
“Mr. Trump is not just any apex deponent; he is the President-elect… It is not an overstatement that he is extremely busy handling matters of very significant public importance.”
Extremely busy electing unqualified officials to his cabinet and firing off tweets about Vanity Fair. that is.
Luckily, D.C. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Di Toro saw through the façade and ruled that hindering any part of Trump’s deposition would be prejudicial to the Andres’ defense team’s right to prepare the case for trial.
A Possible Compromise
On Tuesday, Jose Andres suggested that he and Trump resolve their lawsuit by donating money to a veteran’s organization, rather than drawing out the issue in court.
Mr. @realDonaldTrump can we end our lawsuits and we donate $ to a Veterans NGO to celebrate? Why keep litigating? Let's both of us win..
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) December 13, 2016
Trump has yet to respond to this offer, but I’d be shocked if he even entertains the idea of this compromise. Given his new position of power, it’s clear that he is out for revenge on anyone who has seemingly wronged him in the past. In a statement to CNN, Andres said:
“[We] proposed that we resolve our differences, both contribute to a charity, and both win. That in my mind is a good deal. If Mr. Trump does not agree, we are prepared to continue our due process in the courts.”
Watch the video below for a refresher on Trump’s thoughts about Mexicans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo-7ISmwAi0
Featured image credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr/CC-2.0
