Judge throws out attempt to block Trump’s niece’s book

A New York judge on Thursday tossed an application by President Trump’s brother Robert Trump seeking to block a tell-all book by their niece Mary Trump.

In the ruling, Queens County Surrogate Court Judge Peter Kelly said Robert Trump’s filing contained “several improprieties,” dismissing it on the grounds that it should have been filed in the New York Supreme Court.

The Surrogate Court is responsible for handling wills and estate issues. Lawyers for Robert Trump had argued that a confidentiality clause Mary signed during the disposition of the estate of President Trump’s father, she is legally barred from publishing the book.

“The court has promptly and correctly held that it lacks jurisdiction to grant the Trump family’s baseless request to suppress a book of utmost public importance and concern,” Mary Trump’s attorney, Theodore Boutrous, said in a statement. “Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas, and neither this court nor any other has authority to violate the Constitution by imposing a prior restraint on core political speech.”

of utmost public importance and concern. We hope this decision will end the matter. Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas, and neither this court nor any other has authority to violate the Constitution by imposing a prior restraint on core political speech.” 2/2

— Ted Boutrous (@BoutrousTed) June 25, 2020

Robert Trump’s lawyer, Charles Harder, said he will refile the case in the state’s supreme court.

“Robert Trump, Mary Trump and the other family members who settled in 2001, agreed to jurisdiction of future disputes in the Surrogate’s Court of Queens County, New York. This matter therefore was filed in that court,” Harder said in a statement to the Daily Beast. “Today, the Surrogate’s Court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction over the dispute. Therefore, Robert Trump will proceed with filing a new lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court.”

Publisher Simon & Schuster has said that in the book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” Mary Trump “shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.” It is slated to be published July 28.

President Trump himself has said his niece is “not allowed” to publish the book under a nondisclosure agreement.