Donald Trump indictment: Former US President can now file a lawsuit against his niece
Former President Donald Trump can proceed with a lawsuit against his niece Mary Trump for providing information to the New York Times for its 2018 investigative report on his taxes, a judge ruled.
PremiumNew York state court Justice Robert Reed has ruled that former President Donald Trump can go ahead with a lawsuit against his niece Mary Trump for providing information to the New York Times for its 2018 report on his taxes.
The state court judge rejected Mary Trump's argument that the lawsuit against her was “aimed at chilling freedom of speech and press" and that it violated many state laws against frivolous litigation.
The judge had previously rejected the former President's case against the New York Times noting that the investigative report by the Times was protected under First Amendment rights. The New York state court had also asked Trump to pay the New York Times for its legal fees.
It isn't a surprise because Mary Trump violated the 2001 settlement agreement with her uncle even after benefiting from it financially, Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said in a statement. “Mary Trump had already received a lucrative settlement in the estate proceedings, but she greedily sought to exploit the situation further by disclosing confidential information in violation of an agreement that she freely signed."
Mary Trump is likely to appeal. The ruling is her second setback in litigation with her uncle. Reed in November dismissed her earlier fraud suit against her uncle, which accused the former president and his siblings of defrauding her of her minority share of the family business.
The ruling is a modest procedural victory for Trump on an otherwise rough day in which he became the first-ever ex-president indicted for federal crimes. US prosecutors unsealed a 37-count indictment against Donald Trump on Friday, accusing the former president of risking some of the country's most sensitive security secrets after leaving the White House in 2021.
Trump mishandled classified documents that included information about the secretive US nuclear program and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the federal indictment said.
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