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President-elect Donald Trump sat for a deposition on Thursday in a civil lawsuit related to his hotel in the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed to NPR via email. Even as Trump prepares to assume the presidency, he continues to have entanglements related to his wide-ranging business dealings.

A source close to the case confirms the videotaped deposition took place at Trump Tower in New York and lasted 90 minutes. The $10 million civil lawsuit, for breach of contract, was filed by Trump's lawyers in August 2015 against celebrity chef José Andrés' restaurant group, Think Food Group. Andrés pulled out of a plan to open an upscale restaurant at the hotel after then-candidate Trump disparaged Mexican immigrants. Think Food Group also countersued for $8 million. In countersuing, the restaurant group argued that Trump's comments were hurting business:

Trump's lawyers had tried to avoid the deposition, arguing the president-elect was "extremely busy handling matters of very significant public importance." But last week the judge in the case ordered Trump to sit for the deposition before the end of this week.


While the civil case has dragged on for months, as recently as Thursday morning Andrés 

 to Trump for a way to settle the dispute.


A number of lawsuits involving Trump and his businesses remain outstanding and are unlikely to be resolved before he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. That could mean having a president in office who is subject to ongoing litigation, a potential major distraction for the leader of the free world. There is a pretrial hearing scheduled for May 17 in a case against another celebrity chef, Geoffrey Zakarian, who pulled out of a restaurant project in the Old Post Office as well.



Andrés endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton during the campaign and 

 to apologize to Mexicans and every "person he has insulted." Zakarian 

 in November that he nixed the project "because my buddy Donald, he f***** up. He opened his f****** mouth."
NPR's Peter Overby 

 about both cases late last year.
Despite Trump's boasts that he does not settle lawsuits, he has settled several, including a 

 against Trump University for $25 million.
There's also 

 Trump can hold the lease on the Old Post Office building once he becomes president. He doesn't own the building but is leasing it from the federal government. The agreement contains a clause that could prove problematic for Trump:


Crime, Law and Justice

Politics and Government News

President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to take the oath of office, but as this deposition highlights, many business entanglements remain.

Trump deposed for 90 minutes in civil case involving chef Jose Andres

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