Federal Judge Stays Trump Deposition in Strzok, Page Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Thursday ordered a stay for Donald Trump’s deposition in lawsuits brought by former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former agency attorney Lisa Page claiming wrongful termination and violation of privacy.

"The deposition of former President Donald Trump is hereby stayed until the deposition of [F.B.I. Director] Christopher Wray and any ensuing motion practice as to the remaining necessity of the former president’s deposition have been completed," the order read in part.

Strzok was fired and Page resigned after text messages after text messages emerged that showed the two making critical comments about Trump. Both were working on the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia during his 2016 presidential campaign, The Hill reported.

Judge Jackson had previously ruled that both Wray and Trump could be deposed in the case on a limited basis, but the parties could not agree on who should testify first, according to court documents.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys argued that Wray should be deposed first because he had a lower rank compared to Trump, and his information could negate the need for Trump to testify.

"The Court is somewhat surprised to learn that since then, the parties have done nothing more than wrangle over the order of the two depositions,” Judge Jackson wrote in her ruling Thursday.

"The government seems chagrined that the Court did not order that the deposition of the FBI Director be completed first, but it may recall that it was the Court's view that it was Director Wray, the only current high-ranking public official in the group of proposed deponents, whose ongoing essential duties fell most squarely under the protection of the doctrine in question."

While saying she understood the argument the DOJ was making regarding the order of depositions, she defended her earlier February ruling allowing both to be deposed in the case.

"The Court's [February] ruling was appropriate in light of all of the facts, including the former President's own public statements concerning his role in the firing of the plaintiff," she wrote. "However, in order to get the parties — who apparently still cannot agree on anything — over this impasse, it is hereby ordered that the deposition of Christopher Wray proceed first."

While DOJ attorneys are defending the case, the agency said in a court filing that it is not representing Trump personally in the case, and that he has his own legal team.