Federal judge denies request by Stormy Daniels' attorney for right to depose Donald Trump. Attorney does not see it as a setback.

Courtesy of CNN: 

A federal judge in California put a temporary stop Thursday to efforts by Stormy Daniels' attorney to depose President Donald Trump and his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen over a $130,000 payout from Cohen to the porn star before the 2016 election. 

Judge S. James Otero of the US District Court for the Central District of California denied the motion for an expedited trial and discovery process, saying Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, was "premature" in making the motion because Trump and Essential Consultants LLC, the company established by Cohen to pay Daniels the $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair between her and Trump, have not yet filed a petition to compel arbitration, which they have stated they're going to do. 

In his decision, Otero admonished the parties, writing that "instant litigation is not the most important matter on the court's docket." He also vacated a hearing date previously set for April 30. 

Avenatti told CNN's Wolf Blitzer later Thursday that he does not view the ruling as a setback and is intent on waiting for Trump and Cohen "to file their motion to compel arbitration" before "immediately (refiling) our motion." 

"This does not bode well for the President or Mr. Cohen, and all indications are that when this motion is heard on the merits, we're going to get the discovery and we're going to get the trial we've asked for," Avenatti said.

Avenatti may be right is suggesting that this is not really a setback.

I saw two attorneys talking about this on MSNBC and they said that this deposition is really not something that will become available until Trump's attorneys request arbitration, which they will surely do.

Once it reaches that stage, according to these two attorneys, it is almost a given that Avenatti will get the chance to request discovery and depose Donald Trump.

And according to a recent tweet from Avenatti he agrees with that assessment:

These passages in the Court's order do not bode well for the defendants and suggest that there is a strong likelihood that the Court will ultimately agree with our requests for discovery and a trial. They also destroy David Schwartz's claims that the motion was without merit. pic.twitter.com/D1DmGkku1E

— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 29, 2018

Which kind of makes me think that a smart attorney like Avenatti probably already knew that this request would get turned down, and is now simply trolling Trump using the legal system.

The lawyer for Stormy Daniels wants to depose Donald Trump. More popcorn?

Michael Avenatti: “The other side is attempting to force this case into a private arbitration hidden from the public... In order for the judge to determine that, we are arguing that under the law we're entitled to the deposition.” (CBS) pic.twitter.com/qki66cgQE9

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 28, 2018

Courtesy of NBC News: 

The lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006, has filed a motion in federal court asking for permission to depose the president and his lawyer, Michael Cohen. 

The move comes amid a lawsuit against Trump, alleging that he never signed a nondisclosure agreement that his lawyer had arranged with Daniels, and just days after a revealing interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" in which she detailed an alleged affair with the married mogul and claimed she was threatened in 2011 if she went public. 

The request was filed late Tuesday in a Los Angeles court and will be heard on April 30, Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, tweeted Wednesday morning.

Boy if Trump had any lawyers left they would be freaking out about now.

Especially since Trump, as pointed out over at NPR, is notorious for coming to depositions unprepared, and for not following his lawyer's advice: 

Records of President Trump's past depositions show a familiar pattern of boasting, sometimes battling opponents and giving little deference to factual details — pitfalls that could all come into play in various legal cases before too long.

In deposition transcripts over the years, Trump comes across as uninterested in details, unfamiliar with legal documents and occasionally impatient. One theme that emerges is preparation. Baum, in the 2016 session, asked Trump what he did to prepare. 

Baum: What did you do to prepare for the case today, for the deposition? 

Trump: I would say virtually nothing. I — I spoke with my counsel for a short period of time. I just arrived here, and we proceeded to the deposition. 

Baum: Thank you. So you didn't look at any documents or...

Trump: No, I didn't. 

Baum: ...anything.

I CANNOT even begin to imagine how badly Trump might screw up this deposition.

All I know for certain is that I do not want to miss it when it happens. 

It looks like Bill Cosby is finally going to have to take the stand in response to allegations of sexual assault a15 year old girl.

Courtesy of Business Insider: 

Bill Cosby lost his latest bid to fend off a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1974, as the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the comedian's petition to review the case. 

The accuser's attorney, Gloria Allred, said the decision cleared the way for litigation brought by Judy Huth, now in her 50s, to proceed, and that she intended to take Cosby's sworn deposition within the next 30 days. 

"We are looking forward to Mr. Cosby answering questions under oath at his deposition," Allred said. "It's a very big victory." 

More than forty women have now accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them.

Here is the story about Cosby's 2005 deposition where he admitted that he obtained drugs to use on young women, and here is a list of those who have come out publicly.

Personally I don't know if I will be able to watch his testimony.

Like I said I was once a huge fan, and even though I am more than convinced of his guilt, I think I will still have some difficulty watching him on the stand trying to justify what he did to these women, or deny that he did anything wrong at all.

However having said that if he loses this case I don't see how I could miss the opportunity to see somebody who did such terrible things face a little justice.