Danny Cevallos: 'Assume, hypothetically, that the facts in his complaint are accurate. Granted, that’s a big assumption. But, if true, things don’t look great for Mary Trump.' - NBCNewsTHINK
The confidentiality provisions in the estate settlement appear pretty standard based on the allegations in Donald Trump’s complaint, but Mary Trump’s team may try to argue that this innocent-looking provision was designed to keep incriminating documents sealed forever. It’s a long shot, but defendants often get creative in fashioning their defense.
Of course, Mary Trump quashing the suit on these grounds would rest on whether a court determined that the underlying contract had a purpose of concealing criminal activity. That could actually boomerang on her uncle, because in the process of her making such a claim, more dirty laundry could be aired. To the extent he was motivated in his suit by outrage that the Times published sensitive financial information, going through a trial might only bring more attention and information to light.
Donald Trump almost certainly won’t win his case against the journalists or the Times, however. The Times is planning to challenge the lawsuit, according to a statement from a spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha. "The Times' coverage of Donald Trump's taxes helped inform citizens through meticulous reporting on a subject of overriding public interest," she said."This lawsuit is an attempt to silence independent news organizations and we plan to vigorously defend against it."
Trump may think he’s the next Hulk Hogan, about to sue his own personal Gawker into oblivion. But this is a totally different case, on different grounds, from that of the wrestling star, whoThat’s because to win his claims against the journalists, Donald Trump may need to show more than just that the journalists knew of the confidentiality agreement and still published the information it contained.