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Judge temporarily blocks tell-all book by Trump's niece

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Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

FILE - In this Nov. 3, 1999 file photo, Robert Trump, left, joins real estate developer and presidential hopeful Donald Trump at an event in New York. A tell-all book by President Donald Trump's niece cannot be published until a judge decides the merits of claims by the president's brother, her uncle Robert Trump, that its publication would violate a pact among family members, a judge said Tuesday, June 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Diane Bonadreff, File)

A tell-all book by President Donald Trumpā€™s niece cannot be published until a judge decides the merits of claims by the presidentā€™s brother that its publication would violate a pact among family members, a judge said Tuesday.

New York state Supreme Court Judge Hal B. Greenwald in Poughkeepsie, New York, issued an order requiring the niece, Mary Trump, and her publisher to explain why they should not be blocked from publishing the book: ā€œToo Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worldā€™s Most Dangerous Man.ā€ A hearing was set for July 10.

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The book, scheduled to be published in July, was written by Mary Trump, the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., the presidentā€™s elder brother, who died in 1981. An online description of it says it reveals ā€œa nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse.ā€

The judge said no portion of the book can be distributed before he decides the validity of Robert Trumpā€™s claims. Robert Trump argues Mary Trump must comply with a written agreement among family members that such a book cannot be published without permission from other family members.

Mary Trumpā€™s lawyer, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, promised an immediate appeal.

ā€œThe trial courtā€™s temporary restraining order is only temporary but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment," Boutrous said.

ā€œThis 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,ā€ Boutrous said in a statement.

Adam Rothberg, a Simon & Schuster spokesperson, said the publisher was disappointed but looks forward ā€œto prevailing in this case based on well-established precedents regarding prior restraint."

Charles Harder, an attorney for Robert Trump, said his client was ā€œvery pleased."

He said in a statement that the actions by Mary Trump and her publisher were ā€œtruly reprehensible."

ā€œWe look forward to vigorously litigating this case, and will seek the maximum remedies available by law for the enormous damages," he said. ā€œShort of corrective action to immediately cease their egregious conduct, we will pursue this case to the very end."

In court papers, Robert Trump maintained Mary Trump was part of a settlement nearly two decades ago that included a confidentiality clause explicitly saying they would not ā€œpublish any account concerning the litigation or their relationship,ā€ unless they all agreed, the court papers said.

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Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington.


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