‘Apprentice’ star, former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman beats Trump in arbitration fight over book

“So finally someone has beat him at his own game and in his own forum,” John Phillips, Manigault Newman’s attorney, said of Trump in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.

The attorney said he believes the ruling in this case sets the stage for more people to challenge similar “legally unenforceable” agreements they signed while working for Trump.

“I think that does it for all of them,” Phillips said. “I hope people who have these NDAs … read these opinions and realize they shouldn’t be so worried.”

Trump is well-known for his extensive use of NDAs, the enforcement of which can be litigated outside courtrooms, where hearings and legal filings are routinely made public.

Other former Trump staffers have filed legal challenges to confidentiality agreements they signed. Brown’s ruling pointed to former Trump campaign aide Jessica Denson, who in 2018 sued in federal court to void her own NDA. In March, the judge in that case ruled that the confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions in that agreement were unenforceable.

Phillips in a subsequent email said, “As a lawyer, this was an unimaginable case — a United States President abusing the Constitution and Bill of Rights with outrageously unenforceable non-disclosure agreements.”

“Since Omarosa came forward, and was sued, we’ve said this agreement was illegal and offensive. It took too long to finally get past the frivolous defenses, experts and lawyers like Charles Harder billing the Campaign millions of dollars while free speech was stigmatized,” Phillips said.

Trump lashed out at Manigault Newman in a statement after the ruling was made public.

“I gave Omarosa three attempts at The Apprentice and she failed,” he said. He also said her time at the White House was a failure. “At least now I don’t have to let her fail anymore,” he added.

“Nobody in her life has done more for Omarosa than a man named Donald Trump. Unfortunately, like certain others, she forgot all about that — which is fine with me!” Trump said.

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/28/trump-loses-to-omarosa-manigault-newman-in-arbitration-fight-over-book.html