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Getty Media makes move for videos in Trump University case

A coalition of news organizations is asking a federal judge to take steps that could clear the way for the release of videos of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump being questioned under oath in lawsuits over his Trump University real estate seminar program.

In a motion filed Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in San Diego, several major news organizations asked Judge Gonzalo Curiel to remove "confidential" designations that prevent public disclosure of portions of Trump's deposition testimony.

"Defendant is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and has made his business acumen an important element of his campaign" lawyers for the media coalition said in a brief supporting their motion. "This lawsuit not only raises important questions about Defendant and his organization, it has become a prominent electoral issue ... Opposing candidates have pointed to the allegations in this case in criticizing Defendant’s qualifications for the presidency; Defendant has cited TU as an example of his business success, and made this litigation itself a campaign issue."

"Given the undeniable and substantial public interest in these proceedings, the need for transparency could not be greater," the media brief adds.

While the new motion was brought by news outlets, it seems certain that if the Trump deposition videos are released they will feature prominently in attack ads aimed at the GOP White House hopeful.

Earlier this week, POLITICO reported that class-action lawyers suing Trump and his defunct educational venture on behalf of disgruntled students attempted to file 48 video clips of Trump's depositions with the court, but Curiel rejected the filing on technical grounds.

Transcripts of those segments are already public, but the media motion argues the videos "would provide the electorate with valuable insight into [Trump's] demeanor."

On Thursday, the plaintiffs' lawyers again attempted to file the 48 video clips, but Trump's lawyers told Curiel Friday that they plan to oppose the videos being put on the public record.

If the media motion is successful, the plaintiffs in the case would be free to release the full videos of Trump's depositions without filing them in court. Curiel set a hearing for June 30 on the issue raised by the press, but it seems likely that issue and the public-filing dispute between the parties will wind up entangled in litigation before Curiel.

The media motion filed Friday was brought by all the major TV news networks except for Fox News. Newspaper publishers joining the effort include the New York Times, the Washington Post and Tribune Publishing, which owns the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and several other papers.

Lead counsel on the new motion is one of the best known media lawyers in southern California, Kelli Sager of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the media filing.

The Washington Post intervened earlier in the litigation to try to force release of a number of documents that were filed with the court under seal. In that round of litigation, Trump's lawyers agreed to most of the proposed unsealing and Curiel sided with the media in allowing release of a modest amount of material that remained in dispute.