Some folks refer to the President as the Twitter-in-Chief. Well, he should also be considered as the Litigator-in-Chief. He tossed out provocative statements at campaign rallies like they were candy. At one rally in Louisville, he exhorted his supporters to rough up a couple of protesters. He also added, as the protesters were being forced to leave, “Don’t hurt ’em. Don’t hurt ’em.” Now, those protesters have sued the President and his campaign for encouraging violence. The U.S. District Judge hearing the matter denied a motion to dismiss a few months ago. I previously wrote about this lawsuit here.

Pres. Trump’s attorneys offered creative, if weak arguments, as his lawyers often do. They argued then Candidate Trump was engaging in his First Amendment rights. It was free speech, they argued. The lawyers also argued that Mr. Trump did not encourage violence. He did, after all, encourage the supporters not to harm the protesters. The judge rejected those arguments when he denied the motion to dismiss.

Now, the issue before the court is whether Mr. Trump should appear for a deposition. The President’s lawyers claim his words are clear and do not need explanation. But, in arguing his words have clear meaning, they make a deposition very likely. His words do not have clear meaning. In one passage, he exhorted violence. In a separate set of words he asked them not to harm the protesters. No, his meaning was not clear. In any normal lawsuit, absolutely, Mr. Trump would be deposed. The Litigator-in-Chief has dug his hole. He said things he should not have said, at a time when he should not have said them. People like that often end up in a lawsuit. That is partly why he spent over $500,000 in legal fees in the second quarter of 2017 and almost $200,000 in the first quarter of the year. See Politico news report.