Donald Trump has a lot of critics, but one of his biggest ones comes from his own family. For the last few years, Mary Trump, the former president’s estranged niece, has been a thorn in his side, using her insider status to trash him with intel few have. Now she’s taking her hatred of him one step further: She’s coming for his money.
As per Bloomberg, the psychologist and bestselling author motioned to revive a lawsuit from a couple years ago, which alleged that she’d been defrauded of millions during a family settlement. That case was thrown out in November of this year by a judge who said her claims were barred by a settlement she had signed back in 2001.
However, the new filing alleges that the agreement was signed “through coercion”:
A release from claims is only valid under New York law if it was “fairly and knowingly made,” Mary Trump’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, argued in the filing. The Trump family settlement, on the other hand, was achieved through coercion, she said, including threats to swamp Mary Trump with tax payments she couldn’t afford and discontinue health insurance for her nephew.
The former president and his siblings, Maryanne Trump Barry and the late Robert Trump, “placed young Mary in profoundly unfair circumstances, not only by threatening to bankrupt her” but also “by terminating the health insurance that was literally keeping her newborn nephew alive in an intensive care unit,” Kaplan said in the brief.
Donald Trump’s lawyer, James Kiley, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Another Trump lawyer, Alina Habba, has previously called the suit “frivolous.”
Things sure aren’t going so hot for Mary Trump’s uncle. Last week his business was found guilty of 17 counts of fraud. On top of that, he’s having trouble finding money for his third presidential campaign, which has gotten off to a very bumpy start. Then again, the Donald somehow always manages to weasel out of his problems.
(Via Bloomberg)