A New York Supreme Court judge has lifted a restraining order that prevented Mary Trump from publicizing her new book about her uncle, President Donald Trump, and his family.
Judge Hal Greenwald wrote that a confidentiality clause that was included in an agreement to settle the estate of her grandfather, Fred Trump Sr., was too broad. He wrote that the clause had “too many words, with too many meanings. The cost of the litigation that was settled should have been finalized with more specifics, more clarity, if the current situation was even comprehended, at the time the Agreement was signed.”
In his decision, Greenwald wrote that Robert Trump failed to meet several of the requirements for granting a preliminary injunction — a showing that he would suffer irreparable harm by the publication of the book, and likelihood of success on the merits. Greenwald also wrote that the “balance of equities” were not in his favor.
He wrote that the settlement of Fred Trump’s estate “was a stipulation that settled multiple lawsuits and in exchange consideration was paid out, no specific consideration was paid for confidentiality. Further, what was confidential was the financial aspect of the Agreement, which may not be so interesting now as it might have been in 2001. On the other hand the non-confidential part of the Agreement, the Trump family relationships may be more interesting now in 2020 with a presidential election on the horizon.”
Greenwald even quoted a recent federal court ruling that denied Justice Department efforts to stop the publication of John Bolton’s new book The Room Where It Happened, which also was published by Simon & Schuster yet obtained by reporters in the week before its release date.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Deadline