Mary Trump’s Tell-All Book Temporarily Blocked By Judge
A judge has temporarily blocked the publication of a planned tell-all book from President Donald Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, The Daily Beast reported. However, the matter is far from settled and she may yet be allowed to continue with publishing the title.
Mary Trump is the daughter of the late Fred Trump Jr., the president’s older brother. She has written Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, which promises to be a juicy tell-all filled with allegations about the goings-on within the Trump family. However, her uncle, Robert Trump, has launched a bid to prevent the publication of the book.
Specifically, Robert Trump and his sisters, Maryanne and Elizabeth Trump, claim that the book violates the confidentiality clause that their niece signed off on when the estate of family patriarch Fred Trump Sr. was settled after his death in 1999.
Initially, the family filed suit in Queens, New York, to stop Too Much and Never Enough‘s from getting released. However, that suit was thrown out almost immediately, and the judge told the Trumps to file suit in New York’s Supreme Court, which they did.
On Tuesday, Judge Hal Greenwald granted a temporary restraining order blocking the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, from disseminating the title.
Greenwald also ordered Mary Trump and her publisher to appear before him on July 10 to make their case.
Tuesday’s ruling is only temporary and does not block the publication of Too Much and Never Enough once and for all. Rather, it only stalls its release until a court has had the chance to rule on the merits of the Trump family’s suit. The court may yet decide to allow the book to be published, or it may side with the Trumps and order the publisher not to release it.
Mary Trump’s attorney, Ted Boutrous, said via BBC News that the judge’s order violates his client’s First Amendment rights to free speech.
“This book, which addresses matters of great public concern and importance about a sitting president in an election year, should not be suppressed even for one day,” he said.
Meanwhile, Robert’s Trump lawyer, Charles Harder, applauded the ruling and promised not only to fight the publication of the book but to sue his client’s niece for damages.
“We look forward to vigorously litigating this case and will seek the maximum remedies available by law for the enormous damages caused by Mary Trump’s breach of contract and Simon & Schuster’s intentional interference with that contract,” Harder said, referring to the confidentiality clause the author supposedly signed and then violated.
