Trump’s NDA on Omarosa overturned for her White House ‘tell-all book’
Arbitrator said Apprentice contestant’s nondisclosure agreement was ‘invalid’ under New York law
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump lost his fight to enforce a nondisclosure agreement with former Apprentice star Omarosa Manigault Newman over her White House tell-all book.
An arbitrator agreed with Mr Trump’s one-time adviser that an NDA she signed during the 2016 presidential campaign was “invalid under New York contract law.”
T Andrew Brown wrote in his decision that the terms of the agreement “pertaining to confidential information and non-disparagement are vague and unenforceable.”
The one-term president’s 2020 reelection campaign had filed a complaint with the American Arbitration Association over Ms Manigault Newman’s 2018 book Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.
Mr Trump is well-known for his use of NDAs and litigating to try and enforce them.
“So finally someone has beat him at his own game and in his own forum,” John Phillips, Ms Manigault Newman’s attorney, said of Mr Trump in an interview with CNBC.
And he said that the ruling in the case could now allow more people to challenge the “legally unenforceable” agreements they signed while working for Mr Trump.
“I think that does it for all of them,” Mr Phillips said.
“I hope people who have these NDAs ... read these opinions and realise they shouldn’t be so worried.”
In an earlier statement Mr Phillips criticised the former president for his use of NDAs.
“We believe this is IT. As a lawyer, this was an unimaginable case – a United States President abusing the Constitution and Bill of Rights with outrageously unenforceable non-disclosure agreements.
“Since Omarosa came forward, and was sued, we’ve said this agreement was illegal and offensive.”
Mr Trump was quick to attack Ms Manigault Newman in a statement after the ruling was made public.
“I gave Omarosa three attempts at The Apprentice and she failed,” he said.
And he added that her time at the White House was a failure.
“At least now I don’t have to let her fail anymore,” he said.
“Nobody in her life has done more for Omarosa than a man named Donald Trump. Unfortunately, like certain others, she forgot all about that — which is fine with me!”
Ms Manigault Newman was an adviser to Mr Trump until she was fired by then-White House chief of staff John Kelly in December 2017.
In her book she was scathing about Mr Trump’s White House, and has accused Mr Trump of using racist language, and alleging that tapes exist of him using racial slurs.
Her book was described by the Trump White House as being “riddled with lies” when it was published.
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