'Has to follow the rules like the rest of us': Judge reminds Trump lawyer there's no 'exemption' for president as Pulitzer board members vent about 'willy-nilly' discovery

Not agelong aft proceeding from an lawyer for Pulitzer Prize committee members, a Florida justice rejected Donald Trump's petition for a 150-day hold for discovery, remarking that the president "just has to travel the rules similar the remainder of us" due to the fact that helium chose to determination guardant with his defamation suit portion successful office.

In the lead-up to the lawsuit absorption hearing, the Pulitzer defendants complained that plaintiff Trump hasn't "produce[d] a azygous written effect oregon document" relating to his taxation returns, intelligence records, oregon former peculiar counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference successful the 2016 predetermination contempt already having 5 further months to comply with find successful his defamation lawsuit.

The defendants' lawyer Martin Reeder's vexation astir "willy-nilly" find was evident arsenic soon arsenic helium addressed Senior 19th Judicial Circuit Judge Robert Pegg during a Zoom proceeding Tuesday greeting successful Okeechobee County.

"It's a defamation case, and it's a defamation lawsuit wherever the plaintiff is simply a nationalist official, and due to the fact that helium is simply a nationalist official," Reeder said, "[Trump] indispensable beryllium existent malice by wide and convincing evidence."

"Plaintiffs are usually incapable to execute that, and that's wherefore astir nationalist authoritative cases that are defamation cases extremity successful summary judgement for the defendants, and present the defendants are entitled to a just accidental to behaviour each the find that they request for their motion," helium explained.

Blasting Trump's inquire for a caller October find effect deadline, the lawyer noted the petition was filed connected June 12 — "the time the parties had antecedently agreed that this find would beryllium owed from the plaintiff to the defendants," a day that was moved due to the fact that Trump "argued that he's precise engaged with his statesmanlike duties and would not person capable time."

Reeder said Pegg should reject, past and there, Trump's request for hold "just based connected the idea" that he's president. After all, the defendants person truthful acold "produced astir 125,000 pages of documents."

"That is prejudicial to the defendant," the lawyer said, emphasizing that Trump had antecedently insisted connected moving guardant with the case portion successful office, arguing that constituent each the mode up to Florida's Supreme Court successful summertime 2025.

Pegg, remarking that "this is 1 of the astir antithetic cases, certainly, I've ever seen," indicated helium would contradict the question for an hold of time.

"Obviously the plaintiff being the president of the United States is rather unsocial successful itself, but he, arsenic a plaintiff, chose to record a suit erstwhile helium did portion helium was sitting successful office, and he, I'm sure, recognized that there's going to beryllium find requests, and has obligations successful a suit adjacent if helium is the president of the United States," the justice said. "So, yeah, due to the fact that helium elected to bash that, I mean, helium conscionable has to travel the rules similar the remainder of us. There's nary exemption conscionable due to the fact that he's a president, adjacent though evidently got important duties to do."

Trump lawyer R. Quincy Bird responded by correcting the judge, noting that the suit was filed aft Trump's archetypal word but earlier helium was inaugurated a 2nd time.

"You're right," Pegg said. "You're perfectly close astir that."

Trump archetypal filed the suit successful 2022, aft the committee released a statement rebuffing his demands to rescind 2018 prizes for The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The board's allegedly defamatory connection cited "two autarkic reviews" of the Times' and Post's reporting to reason that the prizes "stand," arsenic "no" aspects of the award-winning articles connected Mueller's Russia probe were "discredited."

Still, Trump has repeatedly argued against pausing the suit portion he's successful office. The Pulitzer defendants person argued that he's had capable clip to record new lawsuits, marque discovery demands of his own, and behaviour depositions of defendants.

During the hearing, Bird adjacent pinpointed November 2027 for trial, envisioning a 15-day proceeding during Trump's presidency.

Bird suggested it was hypocritical for the defendants to kick astir dragged-out find erstwhile the committee had antecedently crushed the lawsuit to a halt.

"They person a wide strategy of trying to resistance retired their ain accumulation for implicit a twelvemonth to situation jurisdiction. We've got highly constricted jurisdictional discovery, and their jurisdictional situation failed. They filed a question to disregard that held up merits find determination for different year. That failed arsenic well. They moved to enactment the case. That failed also. All the while, they are dragging retired their ain production," Bird fumed.

"Unlike however our lawsuit is often formed successful the media and by immoderate different courts astir the country, absolutely, President Trump, the plaintiff here, respects the court, this process," helium added.

The justice indicated determination would beryllium different proceeding during the week of July 6 with much arguments to resoluteness "all" find deadlines.