Trump Dodges Bullet In 'Trump University' Litigation As Court Denies Public Release Of Embarrassing Videotapes Of Mogul's Deposition Testimony; Judge: "[E]very Reason To Believe That Release Of Deposition Videos Would Contribute To Ongoing 'Media Frenzy' ... Increasing Difficulty Of Seating Impartial Jury"

In San Diego, California, Courthouse News Service reports:

• After a media scramble to get a hold of Donald Trump's deposition videos taken for the class action lawsuit against the now-defunct Trump University, a federal judge [last week] declined to release hours of tapes to the handful of national media outlets that requested public access to them.
  
  Multiple media outlets, led by The Washington Post, requested to intervene in the case Cohen v. Trump to get access to deposition videos taken of the GOP nominee on two separate occasions in late 2015 and early this year.
  
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  [U.S. District Judge Gonzalo] Curiel was tasked with deciding if particularized harm would result from the public release of the tapes, and balancing the public and private interests at stake if harm was found. He found Trump's argument that releasing the deposition tapes would cause a "media frenzy" and could potentially "taint the jury pool" had some merit, pointing out courts have found audio and video tapes "were subject to a higher degree of potential abuse" than transcripts.
  
  "Given the context of the case and the timing of media interveners' request, it is nigh-inevitable that 'cut' and 'spliced' segments of defendant's deposition videos would appear in both media reports and in political advertisements aired nationwide prior to the trial date in November, increasing the likelihood that prospective jurors would be exposed to information about the case, as well as to evidence that could be introduced at trial to impeach defendant's testimony," Curiel wrote in the order.
  
  But Curiel did find several factors weighed in favor of disclosure, including legitimate public interest in the content of the videos, the media's desire to provide the electorate with insight into Trump's demeanor and Trump's public celebrity as an "experienced public figure."
  
  Since the videos have not been filed as evidence, however, "the presumption of public access is substantially weaker," Curiel wrote.
  
  "There is every reason to believe that release of the deposition videos would contribute to an ongoing 'media frenzy' that would increase the difficulty of seating an impartial jury," Curiel reiterated.

For more, see Judge Denies Media's Bid for Donald Trump's Video Depositions.