美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Under Oath: Sometimes Combative, Often Boastful, Usually Lacking Details（在线收听）

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President Trump has said that he wants to testify in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. He may also have to testify in two pending lawsuits. Trump has a long history of suing and being sued. And as a result, he's been under oath before as part of depositions. NPR's Tamara Keith has the story of what we can learn from the president's past experience under oath.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: In June 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump sat for a videotaped deposition.

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DEBBIE WHITEHEAD: Can you raise your right hand?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Yes.

KEITH: Trump had sued for breach of contract after celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian pulled out of plans to open a restaurant in Trump's Washington, D.C., hotel.

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WHITEHEAD: Do you swear the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

TRUMP: I do.

KEITH: The questioning was led by lawyer Deborah Baum.

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DEBORAH BAUM: Would you state your full name for the record, please?

TRUMP: Donald John Trump.

BAUM: And I imagine you've had your deposition taken a number of times.

TRUMP: I have, yes.

BAUM: So you know the drill.

TRUMP: I do.

BAUM: And I won't waste...

KEITH: Trump was more subdued than he is in public but no less braggadocious, to borrow a word from the president.

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BAUM: Why do you think they wanted to get out of the lease?

REBECCA WOODS: Objection.

TRUMP: I don't...

WOODS: Sorry. Objection. Foundation.

TRUMP: I don't understand why they did this. I'm running for office. I obviously have credibility because I now, as it turns out, became the Republican nominee running against - we have a total of 17 people that were mostly senators and governors, highly respected people.

KEITH: Lawyers who represented Trump in this and other suits either didn't respond or declined to comment for this story. In deposition transcripts over the years, Trump comes across as uninterested in details, unfamiliar with legal documents and occasionally impatient. One theme that emerges is preparation. Baum, in the 2016 session, asked Trump what he did to prepare.

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BAUM: ...For the deposition.

TRUMP: I would say virtually nothing. I spoke with my counsel for a short period of time. I just arrived here, and we proceeded to the deposition.

BAUM: Thank you. So you didn't look at any documents or...

TRUMP: No, I didn't.

KEITH: That sounds familiar to Tim O'Brien, who wrote "TrumpNation: The Art Of Being The Donald."

TIM O'BRIEN: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, he did not prepare.

KEITH: O'Brien is talking about the two days of deposition Trump sat for in 2007. O'Brien was the defendant in that lawsuit.

O'BRIEN: I have deep, firsthand, in-the-trench experience with depositions with the president of the United States.

KEITH: Trump sued him because he said his book undersold his real net worth. The video of that deposition was never released. O'Brien says Trump's past experience under oath provides a cautionary tale for the president and his lawyers.

O'BRIEN: You don't even have to lay a trap if you're asking about a factual circumstance which - with documents to back it up and the individual at hand - in this case, Donald Trump - isn't familiar enough with the fact pattern and has a propensity to exaggerate in the best cases and misrepresent or lie in the worst ones.

KEITH: Take the 2016 deposition. Trump found himself walking back testimony when confronted with documents. When asked about negotiation of the restaurant lease at the heart of the suit, Trump claimed ignorance, saying his adult children handled the details and just told him when the deal was done.

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TRUMP: They had said, we just signed the lease; we have a deal with Zakarian.

BAUM: OK. So they said, we just signed a lease, and we have a deal?

TRUMP: Don did. He told me when they signed the lease. I don't know when that was.

KEITH: But then, a few minutes later, Baum pulled out a copy of the lease.

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BAUM: So this is Exhibit 25. If you look at - my understanding - the reason I was puzzled by your answer earlier about your son telling you the lease had been signed - my understanding is that you signed this lease. And if you look at page...

TRUMP: That's - well, that's true.

BAUM: OK.

TRUMP: He asked me, yeah.

BAUM: OK.

TRUMP: Yeah, well, I didn't - I believe I signed the lease.

KEITH: Presented with his own signature, Trump had to admit that he had seen the lease.

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TRUMP: Yeah, that's my signature. Yes.

KEITH: Trump ultimately settled with Zakarian for undisclosed terms. And his suit against O'Brien was thrown out. As for Mueller, Trump says he wants to talk to him.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President?

TRUMP: There's been no collusion whatsoever. There's no obstruction whatsoever. And I'm looking forward to it.

KEITH: If an interview does happen, the stakes will be significantly higher than those lawsuits. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House.

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