Former President Donald Trump has snagged a legal win that could pave the way for him to sue his own niece, Mary Trump, over her leak of his confidential tax details to the New York Times back in 2018—a leak that eventually snagged the Times a Pulitzer!
On the very day Trump faced a barrage of felony convictions, the New York state court of appeals threw him a lifeline. They ruled that Trump can indeed take legal action against Mary for handing over juicy tax secrets to the press, secrets that were supposed to be locked down under a family agreement of silence. The bombshell development follows a prior nod from Justice Robert Reed last year, although Reed had tossed Trump’s attempts to sue the Times’ reporters directly and slapped him with a hefty $392,639 bill for restitution.
As Trump reels from a conviction in the high-stakes hush money trial—guilty on all 34 counts—he might find solace in pursuing this fresh legal avenue. The court hinted that while Trump might not get the full $100 million he’s gunning for from Mary, he could still pocket some “nominal damages” for the breach of contract. “At a minimum, nominal damages may still be available on the breach of contract claim even in the absence of actual damages,” stated the court’s decision according to Reuters.
Mary Trump’s legal team blasted the decision, slamming it as an attempt by Trump to “chill and retaliate against” Mary for dishing to the media. Anne Champion, Mary’s attorney, stood firm, declaring, “Mary has made valuable contributions to the public’s knowledge of the former president with her unique perspective as a family member. We are confident she will be vindicated as the case proceeds.” She added a biting critique: Trump “can claim no injury for the publication of truthful information.”
On the flip side, Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, was all cheers over the ruling. She vowed that Mary would be held “fully accountable for her blatant and egregious breach of contract.”
The legal scuffle could become a rallying point for Trump’s base, especially as he remains the Republican presidential frontrunner despite the felony smackdown. In the aftermath of the verdict, his campaign site even crashed under the weight of supporters and donors flooding in to back him. Meanwhile, heavyweight donors opened their wallets wide, funneling six-figure sums into Trump’s war chest. Over at Camp Biden? They’re with the President urging: “The only way to beat Donald Trump is at the ballot box.”
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