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D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press
Roberta Kaplan, lead attorney in Saines v. Kessler, poses for a photo on November 12, 2019 in Atherton, California.
CNN
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Attorney Roberta Kaplan said former President Donald Trump threw documents on the table and became violent during the meeting. He gave a deposition at Mar-a-Lago after learning that his defense team had agreed to provide her with lunch.
Mr. Kaplan, who has represented clients in high-profile cases against Mr. Trump, including E. Jean Carroll, appeared on Thursday’s podcast “George Conway Explains Everything” (to Sarah Longwell). In an episode of “I Will Do”, he said he refused the former president’s request. He continued working until his lunch break because he believed his deposition was a “waste of time.”
“And I could see the gears turning in his brain. It’s almost visible,” said Kaplan, a longtime Trump critic and conservative Republican strategist Sarah Longwell. told attorney George Conway. “And he said, ‘Well, you’re here at Mar-a-Lago. What are you going to have for lunch? Where are you going to have lunch?’
Kaplan said her attorney told her team that they had “kindly offered to provide” lunch for her. This is a common civil practice among opposing defense teams.
“At that moment, there was a huge pile of documents and exhibits in front of him, and he picked up the pile and threw it on the table. Then he stormed out of the room,” Kaplan said. He said Trump specifically yelled at Alina Haba, the lawyer who provided him with lunch.
“He really yelled at Alina about it. He was so angry at Alina,” she said.
Mr. Kaplan continued: “He came back and said, ‘How was your lunch?'” And I said, “Well, I had a banana.” When you’re testifying, it’s really hard to eat. I can’t. ” And he said, “Yeah, I told you so” – that was kind of fascinating. He said, “I told you, I told you to make a really bad sandwich, and they can’t do anything about it here.” They have the best sandwiches. ”
Mr. Kaplan had removed Mr. Trump from office over a lawsuit alleging that the former president was involved in a deceptive marketing company at Mar-a-Lago. A federal judge dismissed the case last month.
In another anecdote, Ms. Kaplan recounted at the end of her deposition that as she was leaving office, President Trump told her, “See you next Tuesday,” a phrase that is considered derogatory toward women. Often used as a euphemism.
“We walked into the room and said, ‘Questions are over,’ and immediately we heard from the other end, ‘Off the record.’ Off the record. Off the record.’ So they must have planned it.” And he looked at me from across the table and said, ‘See you next Tuesday,'” she said.
Kaplan said she was confused at first because the next meeting was set for Wednesday. “It turns out it was another kind of joke that teenage boys would come up with. But again, I wasn’t kidding,” she said.
“I had no idea because I wasn’t in on the joke. Then we got in the car and my colleagues said, ‘Robbie, do you know what that means?’ And I’m like, “No, what are you talking about?” They tell me that, and I’m like, “Oh my god, thank God, because I didn’t know and I definitely would have been mad if I had known.” There’s no question I was angry,” Kaplan said.
CNN has reached out to representatives for Trump and Haba.
Mr. Kaplan’s comments came a week after Mr. Carroll’s victory in his defamation case against Mr. Trump. A jury awards $83.3 million to Carroll, a former magazine columnist who claims President Trump raped her in a department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her by denying her allegations. did. Trump is expected to appeal the ruling.
GWR/Starmax/Getty Images
E. Jean Carroll and attorney Roberta Kaplan (R) leave Manhattan federal court on January 26, 2024 in New York City.
Kaplan also said last week’s verdict was a career-defining moment. Asked whether he felt better about winning the defamation lawsuit against Trump or successfully challenging the 2013 Defense of Marriage Act, which ultimately led to a Supreme Court decision paving the way for same-sex marriage, , Kaplan cited his latest victory.
“I have dedicated my life to the principles that our country has the rule of law and a functioning judicial system,” Kaplan said. “And that’s what makes us a constitutional democracy and, at least until recently, something to be admired around the world. And it was starting to look like it might not be true. The time has come.”
But she added: “This lawsuit has proven that all of that is still there, at least for now.”
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