July 2, 2020

Tell-All Book by Trump’s Niece Moves Forward, Delighting President’s Enemies

The president has claimed that the critical memoir couldn’t be published because of a “very powerful” NDA.

Gripas Yuri/ZUMA

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In a surprise development late on Wednesday, a New York judge lifted a temporary restraining order impeding the publication of a tell-all book by Mary Trump, the president’s niece. The memoir is expected to paint a damning and unflattering portrait of the president and his family during a critical moment in his reelection bid.

The ruling allows Mary Trump’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, to move forward with its efforts to release the memoir on July 28.

The president’s brother, Robert Trump, had attempted to halt Simon & Schuster from releasing Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, claiming that his niece’s decision to publish the explosive account was in violation of a 19-year-old non-disclosure agreement that had been tied to an inheritance agreement.

But on Thursday, Judge Alan Scheinkman ruled that the publisher was not bound by the same confidentiality agreement and could, therefore, proceed with its release plans. “She’s not allowed to write a book,” Trump had told Axios‘ Jonathan Swan, claiming an iron-clad and total non-disclosure agreement. “It covers everything.”

The book by Trump’s niece, a clinical psychologist, is set to detail rampant trauma and abuse within the family’s history. She’ll also reportedly out herself as the source of documents and other information behind the New York Times‘ explosive 2018 investigation into the Trump family’s taxes, which found a “pattern of deception and obfuscation” and “legally dubious” practices.

Scheinkman’s decision is likely to infuriate the president, who despite surging coronavirus cases across the country, remains preoccupied with a range of other topics and interests.

Another person who was once close to Trump and who is planning the release of his own book hailed the news. Remember this guy?

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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