Mary L. Trump, the author of an explosive book about her uncle President Trump, asked a court to lift a restraining order against her, saying in an affidavit filed Thursday that she was misled by the family into signing a confidentiality agreement in an inheritance case two decades ago.
The affidavit marks the first time Mary Trump has commented publicly about her book, as well as her allegation that she was misled when signing the confidentiality agreement.
In her affidavit, Mary Trump said she ânever believedâ the confidentiality agreement in the inheritance case could restrict her from writing a book about âthe conduct and character of my uncle, the sitting President of the United States, during his campaign for re-election.â She said she decided that writing a book was necessary after her uncle was elected president.
The book, âToo Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worldâs Most Dangerous Man,â has climbed to the top of bestseller lists based on preorders and is slated to be published July 28. The publisher, which said it has already distributed thousands of copies to retailers, has said the book will reveal the ânightmare of traumasâ that shaped the man who is now president.
Mary Trump said in her affidavit that, in agreeing to the inheritance settlement, she relied on asset valuations of the family estate provided to her by Donald Trump and his siblings that she said have since been proved to be inaccurate.
âI relied on false valuations provided to me by my uncles and aunt, and would never have entered into the Agreement had I known the true value of the assets involved,â she said. She said the inaccuracy of the valuations was revealed in a 2018 investigation by the New York Times of family finances.
Simon & Schuster said in a filing with the court that Mary Trump told the publishing company she was a source for the Times investigation. Mary Trump did not mention that role in her affidavit.
Mary Trump said that the president and his brother Robert â who filed the petition to stop the bookâs publication â have made multiple public comments about the family without asking her permission.
âMy uncle, President Trump, has spoken out about our family and the will dispute on numerous occasions,â she said.
Robert Trumpâs attorney, Charles J. Harder, did not respond to a request for comment.
A key element of the book is expected to be the impact of the death of Mary Trumpâs father, Fred Jr. â President Trumpâs older brother â from an alcohol-related illness when she was 16 years old in 1981. President Trump told The Washington Post in an interview last year that he regretted pushing his brother to go into the family business.
Mary Trump, 55, and her brother, Fred Trump III, argued during an inheritance dispute two decades ago that they did not receive the amount they expected upon the death of their grandfather, Fred Trump Sr. They were allocated a significantly lesser amount than what would have gone to their father if he had lived, according to court papers.
Mary Trump is a clinical psychologist, providing her with a background in disorders that she uses in the book to dissect President Trump, the publisher said.
