New York judge temporarily blocks publication of tell-all by Trump's niece
Washington — A New York State Supreme Court judge has temporarily halted publication of a tell-all book written by President Trump's niece set to hit shelves next month.
Judge Hal Greenwald issued an order granting a request by Robert Trump, the president's younger brother, that blocks Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster, the book's publisher, from printing or distributing her upcoming book "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man" in "any medium containing descriptions or accounts of" Mary Trump's relationship with the president and his siblings.
Mary Trump, Simon & Schuster and their attorneys must appear before the court July 10. Simon & Schuster is a division of ViacomCBS.
The book is set to be released July 28 and is described by Simon & Schuster as a "revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him." Mary Trump is the daughter of Mr. Trump's older brother, Fred Trump Jr., who died more than 30 years ago.
Charles Harder, the attorney who is representing Robert Trump, said the president's younger brother is "very pleased" with the injunction against Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster, and called their actions "truly reprehensible."
"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," he said in a statement. "Short of corrective action to immediately cease their egregious conduct, we will pursue this case to the very end."
Theodore Boutrous, Mary Trump's lawyer, said they will immediately appeal.
"The trial court's temporary restraining order is only temporary but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment," he said in a statement, adding that the book, "which addresses matters of great public concern and importance about a sitting president in election year, should not be suppressed even for one day."
The order from the New York State Supreme Court comes after a judge on the Queens County Surrogate's Court last week tossed out a request from Robert Trump to block publication of the upcoming tell-all because the court lacked jurisdiction. In the four-page ruling, Judge Peter Kelly said relief should be obtained through action in the New York State Supreme Court.
Robert Trump subsequently filed a complaint with the state Supreme Court in Dutchess County on Friday, alleging that the forthcoming book violates the terms of a confidentiality provision in a settlement agreement entered into with members of the Trump family, including the president, his siblings and Mary Trump. The confidentiality agreement was part of probate proceedings in the estate of Mr. Trump's father, Fred C. Trump, and mother, Mary Trump.
