Trump Campaign Files Complaint Saying Ex-Staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman Breached Secrecy Pact
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President steps up efforts against former ‘Apprentice’ contestant, calling her a ‘dog’
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign filed a complaint against former White House official and campaign aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, alleging she violated a confidentiality agreement she signed during his 2016 presidential bid.
A Trump campaign official said in a brief statement Tuesday that the claim was filed with the American Arbitration Association of New York City. The statement doesn’t specify how Ms. Manigault Newman might have violated the agreement.
A book by Ms. Manigault Newman covering her 11-month stint as a senior White House official went on sale Tuesday. In the run-up to the book’s release, she released recordings she secretly made of conversations with Mr. Trump, White House chief of staff John Kelly and various 2016 campaign aides.
The details of any agreement Ms. Manigault Newman signed couldn’t be determined, and she didn’t respond to requests for comment.
In an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, Ms. Manigault Newman said she didn’t believe she has violated the nondisclosure agreement she signed.
“It’s interesting that he’s trying to silence me” she said, speaking of Mr. Trump. “So, what does he have to hide? What is he afraid of?”
A nondisclosure agreement signed by another White House aide and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal forbids disclosure of any “confidential information” that is “in any way detrimental to the company, Mr. Trump, any Family Member, any Trump Company or any Family Member Company.” It goes on to bar storage of “confidential information.”
The period covered by that agreement is open-ended. It includes a “no disparagement” clause that requires the employee not to “demean or disparage” Mr. Trump “during the time of your service and at all times thereafter.”
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