Trump Campaign Makes Legal Claim Against Omarosa Manigault Newman
WASHINGTON — The campaign of President Donald Trump is taking legal action against Omarosa Manigault Newman, claiming that she violated a 2016 non-disclosure agreement with the release of her new book.
“Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. has filed an arbitration against Omarosa Manigault-Newman, with the American Arbitration Association in New York City, for breach of her 2016 confidentiality agreement with the Trump Campaign,” a company official confirmed to Variety.
The legal action is being filed with the American Arbitration Association, a campaign aide told the Associated Press. The Daily Caller confirmed the report, and a campaign official told the site, “President Trump is well known for giving people opportunities to advance in their careers and lives over the decades, but wrong is wrong, and a direct violation of an agreement must be addressed and the violator must be held accountable.”
Manigault Newman is in the midst of a promotional tour for her book, “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.” She revealed that she recorded conversations that she had with members of the campaign as well as with officials in the White House, and news organizations have played tapes of Chief of Staff John Kelly and Trump himself.
Manigault Newman’s attorney, John Phillips, said, “at this time, we haven’t seen any legal action and don’t have a comment on it. Her legal team will address these matters appropriately as they arise.”
There is doubt over the enforceability of a non-disclosure agreement when it comes to public officials in the White House, and the arbitration action could test just whether they are legally binding. On “PBS NewsHour,” Manigault Newman said she signed one for the campaign, but declined to sign one when she took a job at the White House.
On Monday, Trump tweeted that “Wacky Omarosa already has a fully signed Non-Disclosure Agreement!” He did not specify when it was signed.
Manigault Newman claims that she heard an audio recording of Trump repeatedly using the “N-word,” and on Tuesday, CBS News ran a 2016 conversation she had with campaign officials discussing the potential fallout of the release of such a tape. Trump denies that he ever used that word, and two of the figures heard on the 2016 conversation, Katrina Pierson and Lynne Patton, refuted Manigault Newman’s claims.
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