The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump Jr. was deposed on Feb. 11, 2021, in discovery in the District of Columbia attorney general’s civil lawsuit over inaugural spending. The deposition was disclosed in a court filing filed Feb. 23 and made public Feb. 24. The filing says the District was still pursuing fact discovery in the case, including on a later-added claim involving hotel-room charges. ([oag.dc.gov](https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/2021.02.23-DC-Opposed-MTE-Discovery-and-add-Depos-.pdf))

The underlying lawsuit, filed by the D.C. attorney general’s office, alleges that the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee and Trump-related entities used nonprofit money to overpay for event space at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. The complaint says the committee agreed to pay $175,000 a day for four days of space, which brought the total to about $1.03 million once food and other charges were included. It also says the committee paid more than $300,000 for a private reception on Inauguration Day that benefited Trump family members. ([oag.dc.gov](https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-sues-presidential-inaugural-committee))

In its filing opposing a discovery extension, the District said Trump Jr.’s Feb. 11 deposition raised questions about the Loews Madison room-block invoice that was added to the case in an amended complaint. The filing says the District had already obtained testimony and documents it believed justified more discovery on that additional count. ([oag.dc.gov](https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/2021.02.23-DC-Opposed-MTE-Discovery-and-add-Depos-.pdf))

The case is still about the same basic question: whether the inaugural committee spent nonprofit money for legitimate event costs, or whether Trump family businesses and associates came out ahead. The attorney general’s office says it is seeking to recover money it alleges was improperly paid out and direct it to nonprofit purposes. ([oag.dc.gov](https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-sues-presidential-inaugural-committee))