A New York Appeals Court judge removes the ban on Mary Trump’s book. Ava DeSantis explains what happens next for Too Much and Never Enough.
Yesterday, a New York Appeals Court judge removed the ban on Simon & Schuster publishing Mary Trump’s book. Mary Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough was set to be published on July 28th, before the Trump family sued. Robert Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, alleges Mary Trump made an agreement with the family not to share personal information about the family without their permission. Wednesday’s appeals court decision did not address this alleged agreement.
Ted Boutros, Mary Trump’s attorney, called the ban an “unlawful prior restraint” which “the courts will not tolerate.” Boutros said he plans to file a brief in court today, “explaining why [the ban on Mary Trump sharing information on the Trump family] must be vacated.”
The ban was repealed because the court doubted that Simon & Schuster publishers could be labelled Mary Trump’s ‘agent.’ New York Supreme Court Justice, Alan Scheinkman, explained in the court order.
“S&S is not a party to the settlement agreement [and] this Court perceives no basis for S&S to be specifically enjoined,” wrote Scheinckman. “Unlike Ms. Trump, S&S has not agreed to surrender or relinquish any of its First Amendment rights.”
The ban remains against “any agent” of Mary Trump, or Trump herself, publishing the information on her behalf. Simon & Schuster appears to be waiting for the Poughkeepsie court to rule on the separate, preliminary injunction the Trump family attorney filed against Mary Trump’s book. A preliminary injunction is an order which can be given before the conclusion of a trial, to preserve the status quo. In this case, the status quo is Mary Trump’s being unpublished.
Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for the publisher, said “as all know, there are well-established precedents against precedents against prior restraint and pre-publication injunctions,” but assured the public “ we remain confident that the preliminary injunction will be denied.”