Judge: Trump lawyers in Iowa Poll lawsuit can’t pursue discovery until after dismissal hearing

DES MOINES — A state judge will hear lawyers’ arguments over whether President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against an Iowa pollster and newspaper should be thrown out.

The judge also ruled Trump’s lawyers cannot demand information or documents, or request witness testimony until after the hearing.

Iowa District Court Judge Scott Beattie issued the ruling late last week. The hearing on a motion to dismiss the case has not yet been scheduled.

Trump sued former Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register over an Iowa Poll published days before the 2024 presidential election. The poll showed Democrat Kamala Harris ahead by 3 percentage points; Trump won the state by 13 points. Trump’s lawsuit claims the poll violated the state’s consumer fraud law.

Lawyers for Selzer and the Register argue the lawsuit is frivolous and without legal merit and represents a chilling attack on free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Beattie on Jan. 30 heard lawyers’ arguments over how the case should proceed. Last week, he issued a ruling that granted the defendants’ requests to hold a hearing on whether to dismiss the case, and paused the discovery phase of the trial — when lawyers are able to gather documents, information and testimony relevant to the case — until after the hearing on the motion to dismiss.

Beattie rejected defendants’ requests to pause the trial until after a federal court ruling on a similar lawsuit or until after Trump leaves office.

In last week’s ruling, Beattie said pausing discovery until after a hearing on defendants’ motion to dismiss is in the interest of justice and “judicial economy.”

“This is particularly true given that discovery in this case will be unquestionably unique, and unique cases require additional resources from the parties and the Court to address,” Beattie wrote in his ruling. “This approach protects the parties from undue burden and expense while promoting efficient use of judicial resources.”

During the Jan. 30 arguments, Beattie suggested to lawyers that discovery in the case will be uniquely challenging because the plaintiff is the U.S. president. Defendants’ lawyers argued, for the same reason, that proceeding to discovery would create an uneven legal playing field.

History of Trump v. Iowa Poll

Trump first sued over the pre-election Iowa Poll in state court in December 2024. Lawyers for the Register were granted a request to move that lawsuit to federal court. Trump asked the federal courts to dismiss that lawsuit and refiled his lawsuit in the state courts on June 30, 2025 — one day before the enactment of a new state law that allows defendants to request expedited dismissal of lawsuits that they argue are intended to squelch free speech. A federal judge rejected Trump’s request to dismiss the federal lawsuit, but that ruling was overturned by a 2-1 ruling on appeal.

In January 2025, a separate but similar lawsuit was filed in federal court by a West Des Moines individual on behalf of Register subscribers. A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in November; the individual has appealed the ruling. Lawyers in the state case on Jan. 30 argued whether the ruling in that case should apply to the ongoing case in state court, and whether the state judge should wait for the federal appeals court ruling before allowing the state case to proceed.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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