Trump asks Iowa court to let suit against Des Moines Register proceed

DES MOINES, Iowa (CN) — Attorneys for President Donald Trump urged an Iowa state judge on Friday to let his lawsuit continue against the Des Moines Register and its pollster.

The president claims a public opinion poll, published just three days before the November 2024 election and showing him trailing then-Vice President Kamala Harris by three points in Iowa, was fraudulent.

Trump sued the Register, its corporate owner and pollster J. Ann Selzer in Polk County District Court in December 2024, accusing the newspaper of consumer fraud for publishing Selzer’s poll. Trump, who ended up beating Harris in Iowa by more than 13 points, claims Selzer intentionally doctored the poll in an attempt to affect the outcome of the election.

The Register had moved to stay discovery until a federal appeals court could rule on a separate suit that raises nearly identical issues. Friday’s hearing was scheduled to consider that motion.

But Polk County District Judge Scott Beattie had follow-up questions. He wanted to know what Trump’s lawyers meant when they said the president’s participation in this suit’s discovery would be “minimal, if at all.”

“We didn’t ask for him to stay over from Tuesday,” said Alan Ostergren, a Des Moines attorney representing Trump. The line, which drew chuckles in the courtroom, was a reference to the fact the president held a rally in Iowa’s capital city this week.

Getting serious, Ostergren said minimal discovery could mean a written interrogatory to minimize the burden on the president’s time.

“I don’t believe his physical attendance will be necessary in this court, obviously,” Ostergren said. “That could depend on how this case plays out.”

Nicholas Klinefeldt, an attorney with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath in Des Moines who is representing the Register, countered that because President Trump claims the opinion poll damaged him as an individual, he will need to make himself and his records open to discovery to substantiate those claimed damages.

“Asymmetrical discovery really amounts to an investigation — an investigation of the press,” Klinefeldt said. “The purpose of that investigation is to intimidate. The Des Moines Register and USA Today will not be intimidated.”

Judge Beattie asked the lawyers Friday what his options would be if the president were to refuse to participate in discovery.

“What tools do I have to compel discovery," Beattie asked, other than jailing Trump for contempt? “I’m fairly certain there would be some pushback to that.”

“That is a serious question," Klinefeldt said. “The sanction you discussed would be a pretty extreme measure.” He added that the ultimate sanction would be to dismiss the case.

In the year since it was originally filed, Trump’s suit has bounced between state and federal trial courts and the federal circuit court of appeals.

Now, a class action filed by a West Des Moines man, which makes nearly identical claims as Trump’s lawsuit, threatens to throw another wrench into the judicial gears.

That suit, filed in Polk County District Court by Register subscriber Dennis Donnelly, was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. It was dismissed by a judge last November, in part because of the Register’s rights under the First Amendment.

Donnelly appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. His appeal has not yet been briefed by the parties, and a decision could be a year off. Meanwhile, the Register and Selzer are asking the state trial court in Des Moines to stay discovery until the Eighth Circuit rules, arguing that decision could affect Beattie’s consideration of Trump’s case.

At the conclusion of Friday’s hearing, Beattie said he would take the case under advisement. He expects to issue a ruling in about two weeks.

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