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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Accuser’s lawyer wants to depose Seattle mayor on May 2

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, right, walks past his husband, Michael Shiosaki, left, and his attorney, Bob Sulkin, before speaking to the media, Friday, April 7, 2017, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
Associated Press

SEATTLE – The lawyer for a man suing Seattle’s mayor for alleged sexual abuse over several years in the 1980s has filed a court notice to have him deposed next month.

Lincoln Beauregard, who represents the 46-year-old man identified by the initials D.H., wants to have Mayor Ed Murray deposed on May 2, the Seattle Times reported.

Murray can expect to be questioned about the facts of the case including the “various potential causes of the medical matters referenced publicly by his attorneys” during a Tuesday news conference, according to the notice.

Murray and his lawyer, Robert Sulkin, have denied the allegations and at a Tuesday news conference Sulkin tried to discredit D.H., saying the case should be dropped because a medical exam refutes D.H.’s claims of a mole on the mayor’s body.

Beauregard, however, said his client is telling the truth and that the case will proceed.

Sulkin told the newspaper Wednesday that efforts to quickly depose the mayor smack of politics.

“No one, including Mayor Murray, even knows who the accuser is, and Mayor Murray is in no position to answer questions until he does,” Sulkin’s email said.

Murray, who was elected mayor in 2013, is running for re-election this year. He reiterated in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he “will continue to lead this city as mayor.”

The court notice also asks that Murray be deposed before May 19 – the deadline for any potential challengers to Murray’s re-election bid to register as candidates.