| As Delgado
Sues Trump Over West Wing Job She Attacks
Privilege Log & Moves to Compel
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
May 21 – Arlene "A.J." Delgado
sued the Trump campaign after
she did not receive the West
Wing job she said she was
promised (but Jason Miller
got).
On August 16, 2022 U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Magistrate Judge Katharine H.
Parker held an in-person
proceeding. Inner City Press
went and covered it.
Jump cut to
January 30, 2024: Delgado is
now pro se and moving to
depose Reince Priebus and Eric
Trump. Inner City Press live
tweeted, thread
On February 5,
2024, Magistrate Judge Parker
denied Delgado's motion that
she recuse herself for having
practiced employment defense
law prior to becoming a
Magistrate Judge, and other
reasons. Order on Patreon here.
On February 28,
after Delgado's submission of
a 15 page letter here, there
was a discovery conference.
Inner City Press live tweeted
it here
(and, for those who prefer, on
Threads here)
On March 6,
Arlene Delgado docketed her
subpoena to Jared Kushner,
including the records he
should bring - subpoena on
Patreon here
On March 21,
Delgado filed a discovery
letter with Judge Parker,
including that "During the
deposition of third-party
witness Eric Trump, on March
13, 2024, Mr. Trump (who was
represented by Alina Habba,
Esq.) stated that, in
preparation for this
deposition, he had met with
his attorney (Ms. Habba) and
also with Defendants counsel,
the day prior to his
deposition. Ms. Habba then
claimed that “common interest
privilege” applies to shield
the communications between her
client, Eric Trump, and
Defendants’ counsel. Plaintiff
requests" - letter on Patreon
here.
On March 26 there
was another discovery
conference, including this
On April 3,
Magistrate Judge Parker issued
a six page order including
"The deadline for discovery is
extended to May 7, 2024 for
the sole purpose of completing
the depositions of Castellano,
Glassner, Kushner, McGahn,
Conway, and Bannon." Order on
Patreon here.
On April 26,
Jared E. Blumetti of LaRocca,
Hornik, Greenberg,
Kittredge,Carlin &
McPartland LLP moved to
withdraw, citing "an
irreparable breakdown in the
attorney-client relationship
between the Firm and
Campaign." Declaration on
Patreon here.
On April 30,
Delgado opposed: full
filing on Patreon here.
On May 2, Judge
Parker asked for an ex parte
(sealed) motion by May 7,
"Defense counsel shall provide
a copy of the declaration to a
representative of Donald J.
Trump For President, Inc. (the
“Campaign”) and Messrs.
Priebus and Spicer. Because
the Campaign is an entity, it
may not represent itself. See
e.g., Cent. Harlem Cmty.
(Dist. 10) v. City of New
York, 2024 WL 1603463, at *1
(S.D.N.Y. Mar. 8, 2024). Thus,
if the motion to withdraw is
granted, the Campaign will be
at risk of default if it does
not promptly obtain substitute
counsel." Order on Patreon here
On May 8, Delgado
filed a declaration including
that "I have information and
reason to believe that
payments made to (a) Kasowitz
Benson Torres LLP ($4.1
million from the Campaign to
the firm, in a mere two month
period immediately following
the November 2020 election),
and payments made to (b) Red
Curve Solutions (which is not
a legal entity or law firm,
for “legal reimbursements”
totaling millions of dollars
in a short period of time),
reflect legal services related
to, and monetary settlements
paid to, women who raised
complaints of gender
discrimination, pregnancy
discrimination, and sexual
harassment -- complaints which
are currently withheld from
the Defendant-Campaign,
despite" - full Declaration on
Patreon here.
On May 13,
Delgado's subpoena to Fox
including about Jason Miller
was quashed, 7 page Order on
Patreon here
On May 16,
Delgado filed a request
including "Mr. Bannon is well
known for hiding from process
servers and is, per reports
this week, headed to prison
for four months. Plaintiff
thus requests leave to be
permitted to utilize all
emails and materials authored
by Bannon to be permitted, as
well as leave under Rule
804(b)(1) to use Bannon’s
depositions from any other
matters, related to this case,
given his unavailability." 7
page submission on Patreon here
Docketed on May
21, Delgado's motion to compel
including "Plaintiff reached
out to Mr. Trump’s counsel,
Alina Habba, about such, on
April 5, 2024. Plaintiff
received no response.
Plaintiff followed up again on
the email, on May 16, 2024,
and again received no
response. The privilege log
has multiple errors: It
violates the S.D.N.Y.
requirement that the
relationship amongst the
listed individuals should be
described if not apparent; it
withholds in full each and
every one of the 145 entries
(indicating a blanket
approach); and multiple
entries list no sender or
recipient at all.
(Additionally, the font size
also makes the document very
difficult to review and the
log is not in any order, and
certainly not chronological
order.) “A party invoking the
attorney-client privilege has
the burden of showing, as to
each allegedly privileged
communication, that the
communication was (1) between
counsel and client, (2)
intended to be and remained
confidential, and (3) made for
the purpose of providing or
obtaining legal advice.” In re
Chevron Corp., 749 FSupp2d
141, 164-65 (SDNY 2010) Mr.
Trump’s log does not meet this
burden. It is also
well-established that one of
the classic and highly common
inadvertent waivers of
attorney-client privilege are
the copying of a
non-party/non-attorney in the
communications. As such, the
majority of the items noted in
the log do not, in fact,
qualify for attorney-client
privilege protection: NOTE:
For ease of review,
individuals who are NOT
attorneys to the
Defendant-Campaign and are
also not staff-members of the
Defendant-Campaign (i.e., are
not part of the client), and
thus likely create a waiver by
virtue of inclusion, are in
bold. #1: Cannot be withheld
as privileged because not an
email with client and because
nonattorney/non-party is/are
included. Email to Larry Rosen
(attorney for the Campaign)
from Eric Trump (works for
Trump Org / not the Campaign),
cc’ing Lara Trump (works at
Giles Parscale – not the
Campaign) and Alan Garten (an
attorney for Trump Org and not
part of the Campaign). #2:
Cannot be withheld as
privileged because
non-attorney non-party is/are
included. Email to Michael
Glassner (Campaign COO)
(mglassner@donaldtrump.com )
from Lara Trump (works for
Giles Parscale – not the
Campaign)
(lara@gilesparscale.com) ,
cc’ing Eric Trump (works for
Trump Org - not the Campaign)
(etrump@trumporg.com ) and
copying Alan Garten (an
attorney for the Trump) - full
20 page filing on Patreon here
More on X for
Subscriber here,
Substack here
Inner City
Press will continue to follow
the case.
It is Delgado v.
Donald J. Trump For President,
Inc. et al., 19-cv-11764
(Torres / Parker)
***
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