Former President Donald Trump has lost an effort to enforce a nondisclosure agreement against Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide and reality TV “Apprentice” star, who wrote a tell-all book.
Trump loses case to enforce Omarosa’s NDA
A case filed in 2018 with the American Arbitration Association in New York, by the campaign of former President Donald Trump, against Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide and reality TV “apprentice” star, who wrote a tell-all book entitled “Unhinged,” claimed she violated a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) she had signed during the campaign. The NDA stipulated that Omarosa would not reveal private or confidential information about Donald Trump’s family, business, or personal life, the New York Times reported. The case was filed shortly after Omarosa’s book was published.
The arbitration is confidential and only the parties involved can release information about the case.
“It’s over,” said John Phillips, Omarosa’s attorney. “We’ve won in Donald Trump and the Trump campaign’s chosen forum.”
The arbitration decision cannot be repealed, leaving Trump with little recourse to pursue further action, other than alleging fraud against the arbitrator who heard the case.
As a result of the decision, it calls on the Trump campaign to pay the legal fees for Ms. Manigault Newman.
Arbitrator says Trump NDA “vague, meaningless”
According to papers made available Newman’s attorney, the arbitrator in the case of said the definition of the type of comment protected by the nondisclosure agreement was so vague, it had been rendered meaningless. Further, the arbitrator said the statements made by Newman hardly included privileged information.
“The statements do not disclose hard data such as internal polling results or donor financial information,” wrote Andrew Brown, the arbitrator in the case. “Rather, they are for the most part simply expressions of unflattering opinions, which are deemed ‘confidential information’ based solely upon the designation of Mr. Trump. This is exactly the kind of indefiniteness which New York courts do not allow to form the terms of a binding contract.”
Arbitrator calls NDA “unreasonable”
“[the agreement] effectively imposes on Respondent an obligation to never say anything remotely critical of Mr. Trump, his family, or his or his family members’ businesses for the rest of her life,” the arbitrator wrote. “Such a burden is certainly unreasonable.”
What kind of image does “Unhinged” paint of Trump and his family?
According to the opinion of the New York Times, Omarosa’s book: “paints a picture of an out-of-control president who is in a state of mental decline and is prone to racist and misogynistic behavior.”
The Times wrote: “Ms. Manigault Newman’s book also casts the former president’s daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in a negative light.”
Omarosa released audio files to back up her claims
After the book’s release, Trump advisers had tried to cast doubt on Omarosa’s claims. In response, Omarosa’s released audio recordings as evidence to verify several of her remarks.
