Appeals Court Rules Trump Can Move Forward With Case Against Niece

(RepublicanView.org) – The Manhattan Appellate Division court recently found a “substantial basis in law” that his niece, Mary Trump, former president Donald Trump’s niece, violated confidentiality agreements.

The decision, which was made at the end of May, means that Trump can move forward with a lawsuit against his niece for her alleged violation. The panel of judges said they did not actually determine whether Mary violated her agreement, but they will allow Trump’s lawsuit to move forward to discover if she did. They also hinted that damages will likely be minimal, much lower than the $100 million that Trump was pursuing.

Trump filed a suit against his niece back in 2021 after she allegedly violated a confidentiality agreement that she made in 2001 over the estate of Fred Trump Sr. According to Trump, she went against the agreement after discussing his personal tax information. He is also suing the New York Times and three of its reporters for publishing his tax records. One of those reporters, Russ Buettner, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for his reporting of Trump’s personal finances.

The decision comes a year after a New York judge sided with Trump’s right to sue his niece. She later appealed that ruling, but it was upheld by the panel of judges on May 30. However, they still left it to the examination of evidence during future proceedings to determine the actual intent. That will ultimately be used to decide if Mary Trump did violate her confidentiality agreement.

The New York Times article was originally published in 2018. It originally said that most of its information sources were anonymous, but Mary later published a memoir in which she publicly identified herself as a significant source. She is an open and frequent critic of her uncle.

One of her attorneys claimed Trump’s lawsuit broke a New York law that prohibits trivial court cases that are simply filed to silence a critic. She called it a retaliation on Mary’s free speech rights, arguing her contributions were “valuable” to the American people.

However, Trump lawyer Alina Habba said Trump looks forward to holding his niece accountable for her actions. She called the violation “blatant and egregious.”