A New York judge has dismissed Mary Trump’s lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, saying her claims are barred by an earlier settlement she reached more than 20 years ago with the Trump family.
Mary Trump, Trump's niece, had alleged in the lawsuit that she was defrauded of millions of dollars in a 2001 family settlement.
In 2020, Mary Trump sued Donald Trump; his sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired judge; and the executor of her late uncle Robert Trump’s estate, alleging “they designed and carried out a complex scheme to siphon funds away from her interests, conceal their grift, and deceive her about the true value of what she had inherited.”
Mary Trump alleged the full nature of the alleged fraud only came to light after The New York Times in 2018 published an article titled “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Scheme as He Reaped Riches From His Father,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. Mary Trump provided the reporters with 19 boxes of records that she obtained through the 2001 settlement.
During a hearing in January, lawyers for both Mary Trump and Donald Trump sparred over whether her lawsuit could move forward.
A judge has now dismissed the case.
The lawsuit’s dismissal is the second legal victory for the former president this week, after a retaliation lawsuit by Michael Cohen was dismissed by a federal judge on Monday. Cohen, a former personal attorney for Donald Trump, had alleged that Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr and others put him back in jail to prevent him from promoting his upcoming book while under home confinement.
A lawyer for Mary Trump said they plan to seek an expedited appeal.
“Yesterday’s decision is both incorrect and disappointing, especially since it took more than two years for us to get here. In our view, the court overlooked applicable case law and the well-pleaded allegations in Mary Trump’s complaint,” Roberta Kaplan said in a statement Tuesday, November 15.
Citing the defendants’ ages and the prospect of Donald Trump launching a third bid for the White House, Kaplan said, “We intend to seek an expedited appeal to the appellate division.”
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