Trump niece’s tell-all book temporarily blocked by judge

‘The trial court’s temporary restraining order is only temporary but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment,’ says Mary Trump’s attorney

A judge in New York has temporarily blocked the publication of a tell-all book about president Donald Trump written by his niece.

Mary Trump’s book, Too Much and Never Enough, was scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster on 28 July, but has had its release blocked, as the judge wants arguments to be made in court.

The order from judge Hal Greenwald of the New York State Supreme Court sided with the president’s brother, Robert Trump, who is attempting to get the release of the book banned, by arguing that it breaches a confidentiality agreement relating to the estate of his father, Fred Trump, according to CNN.

According to Simon & Schuster, Ms Trump’s book “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.”

Ms Trump is the daughter of the president's older brother, Fred Trump Jr., who died in 1981 at aged 42 from a heart attack.

Charles Harder, Mr Trump’s attorney, released a statement after the decision was announced, and called Ms Trump and the publishers “reprehensible.”

“Robert Trump is very pleased with the New York Supreme Court’s injunction against Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster,” Mr Harder said.

“Short of corrective action to immediately cease their egregious conduct, we will pursue this case to the very end,” the attorney added.

Mr Greenwald has ordered Ms Trump and Simon & Schuster to appear in court on 10 July, to argue why the book should be published.

Ms Trump’s attorney, Ted Boutrous, told CNN that the decision goes against the First Amendment, and revealed that they will appeal.

“The trial court’s temporary restraining order is only temporary but it still is a prior restraint on core political speech that flatly violates the First Amendment. We will immediately appeal,” Mr Boutrous said.

“This book, which addresses matters of great public concern and importance about a sitting president in an election year, should not be suppressed even for one day,” he added.

Adam Rothberg, an attorney for Simon & Schuster echoed Mr Boutrous’ comments and said that the publisher was disappointed with the judge’s decision.

“We plan to immediately appeal this decision to the Appellate Division, and look forward to prevailing in this case based on well-established precedents regarding prior restraint,” Mr Rothberg said.

The decision came a week after former Trump administration national security adviser, John Bolton, released his tell-all memoir about his time working for the president.

The Trump administration delayed the book’s release and attempted to block its publication entirely, but was unsuccessful, and The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir was released on 23 June 2020.