Lawyer for Donald Trump’s niece planning to depose outgoing president in three cases
The cases will allege defamation and fraud against the outgoing president
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Your support makes all the difference.An attorney for Donald Trump’s niece will bring three cases against the outgoing president, who is due to leave the White House on Wednesday.
The cases will allege defamation and fraud against him on behalf of his niece, Mary Trump, author E. Jean Carroll, and participants in a case involving ACN, a marketing company.
Roberta Kaplan, the 54-year-old attorney, told the Washington Post that she had become “the go-to person to sue the president”.
The three cases are among a number of lawsuits Mr Trump could face once he leaves office, which will include those brought by Ms Kaplan.
His accounts are already under investigation in New York, where separate civil and criminal cases are considering whether Mr Trump committed fraud.
“His terror is that he will no longer be protected by the office and will have to deal with these lawsuits,” said his niece, who alleges that Mr Trump and two of his siblings left her without millions in inheritance.
The case, which was originally filed in September last year, said Mr Trump and two uncles devalued the family’s assets and lied about her inheritance from her father, Fred Trump Jr, who died when she was a teenager.
Mr Trump, along with brothers Donald and Robert, and aunt Maryanne Trump Barry, were said to have promised to protect Ms Trump’s assets, and did not do so. The case was filed following a New York Times investigation in 2018.
In another case, Mr Trump has been accused of defamation against the author and writer, Ms Caroll, after he claimed she was "totally lying" about her allegation that he had raped her almost two decades ago in a New York department store.
She told the Post: “I don’t give two flying figs about an apology. I am dying to get him in a deposition. I want him to say that I’m not a liar. I just want him to admit that he lied and that, yes, it happened.”
The attorney, Ms Kaplan, will also represent participants in a case involving market company ACN, The plaintiffs allege that Mr Trump - as host of “The Celebrity Apprentice” - and other Trump family members “fraudulently” promoted the company.
Mr Trump, who is due to announce a final list of presidential pardons on Tuesday, had been rumoured to be considering a self pardon - as well as preemptive pardons for family members who could face legal cases - but is no longer expected to do so.
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