Trump Claims There Could Be Legal Consequences For Former Staffers
In the wake of his personal assistant’s resignation, President Donald Trump on Saturday emphasized that he could hold former staffers legally accountable for breaking their nondisclosure agreements.
“While Madeleine Westerhout has a fully enforceable confidentiality agreement, she is a very good person and I don’t think there would ever be a reason to use it,” he tweeted, referring to the 28-year-old who stepped down from her post on Thursday.
Westerhout left the administration after allegedly dishing out personal details about the first family at an off-the-record dinner with journalists in Bedminster, New Jersey, after a couple of rounds of drinks, according to Politico.
Among Westerhout’s claims were that the president is incapable of recognizing daughter Tiffany Trump in a crowd and that he does not like being photographed with her because he feels she is overweight.
However, Trump appeared to push back on that narrative Saturday, declaring, “I love Tiffany, doing great!”
He also noted that Westerhout had called him to apologize and said she “had a bad night.”
While Madeleine Westerhout has a fully enforceable confidentiality agreement, she is a very good person and I don’t think there would ever be reason to use it. She called me yesterday to apologize, had a bad night. I fully understood and forgave her! I love Tiffany, doing great!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019
Continuing, the president then announced he is suing former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, who exited his administration in 2017 and has since written a New York Times bestseller called “Unhinged” in which she is intensely critical of Trump.
Following her departure, Manigault Newman revealed that she had taped private White House discussions, bragged about her stash of recordings and slowly released a small handful to the public. According to the Times, she may have up to 200 audio files.
“Yes, I am currently suing various people for violating their confidentiality agreements,” Trump wrote. “Disgusting and foul mouthed Omarosa is one. I gave her every break, despite the fact that she was despised by everyone, and she went for some cheap money from a book. Numerous others also!”
...Yes, I am currently suing various people for violating their confidentiality agreements. Disgusting and foul mouthed Omarosa is one. I gave her every break, despite the fact that she was despised by everyone, and she went for some cheap money from a book. Numerous others also!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019
Manigault Newman isn’t the only former staffer to have written a supposed tell-all on the inner workings of the Trump administration.
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and former aide Cliff Sims have also penned their own books, along with two ex-FBI officials ― the agency’s former director James Comey and former deputy director Andrew McCabe.
Though having White House employees sign NDAs is not unprecedented, such agreements are more commonly used by private employers rather than by publicly funded government bodies. However, Trump has made them a requirement for many of his hires. One of the documents obtained by the Associated Press forbids staffers from releasing information “of a private, proprietary or confidential nature or that Mr. Trump insists remain private or confidential.” The agreement applies to the duration of employment as well as to “all times thereafter.”
Related coverage
Justice Department Sues Omarosa For Alleged Ethics Violations
Madeleine Westerhout Out As Trump's Personal Assistant: Reports
Trump Says Aide Left White House Because She Said Something 'Hurtful' About His Kids
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
