A New York State appellate judge ruled Wednesday that Simon & Schuster may proceed with publishing a tell-all book about President Donald Trump that was written by his niece. Photo by Chris Kleponis/UPI |
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July 2 (UPI) -- A New York State appellate judge has ruled Simon & Schuster can proceed with publishing a tell-all book about President Donald Trump a day after a lower court imposed a temporary injunction against its publication stating the company was beholden to the non-confidentially agreement signed by the manuscript's author, the president's niece Mary Trump.
In the six-page ruling issued Wednesday evening, Justice Alan D. Scheinkman said the injunction against the book's publication stems from a non-disclosure agreement signed between the members of the Trump family barring them from writing about one another, and while Mary is free to sign away her First Amendment rights, Simon & Schuster made no such agreement.
"S&S is not a party to the settlement agreement," Scheinkman wrote. "The only basis offered by the plaintiff to extend the temporary restraining order to S&S are the allegations that S&S 'intends to act' on Ms. Trump's behalf in causing the publication of the book that S&S is acting at Ms. Trump's direction and in concert with her. However, these allegations are conclusory and not supported by any specific factual averments."
The injunction was issued Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by the president's younger brother, Robert Trump, claiming the book scheduled to be published July 28 violated a non-disclosure agreement that Mary signed as part of a settlement over her inheritance from the estate of Fred Trump, Sr., the president's father, who died in 1999.
Robert argued Mary violated the agreement by writing the book "Too Much and Never Enough, How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," which she has described as an "insider's perspective" of "countless holidays meals," "family interactions" and "family events."
Scheinkman said further arguments will be heard July 10 concerning whether Mary is beholden to the non-disclosure agreement as situations around it have changed from a public-interest perspective since Trump became president.
"The legitimate interest in preserving family secrets may be one thing for the family of a real estate developer, no matter how successful; it is another matter for the family of the president of the United States," Scheinkman wrote.
Simon & Schuster welcomed the court's decision Wednesday.
"We support Mary L. Trump's right to tell her story in 'Too Much and Never Enough,' a work of great interest and importance to the national discourse that fully deserves to be published for the benefit of the American public," the publishing house said in a statement.
