Trump charges NY Times and niece for tax rumours

Former President of the USA Donald Trump is about to sue his niece and the New York Times over an article from 2018 that allegedly claimed he is involved in “dubious tax schemes.” The lawsuit he has filed accuses Mary Trump and the newspaper reporter. He filed a case stating their involvement in an insidious plot for obtaining confidential documents.

It alleges that Ms. Trump has breached an agreement which is barring her from disclosing the document. She has revealed herself as the source for the story in a tell-all memoir in 2020.

She is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr, the older brother of the former president, who died in 1981 at the age of 42. Also, she did not make any comments on this lawsuit.

Mr. Trump kept rejecting all the claims consistently that his niece made in her books. The book has the title Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man. He unsuccessfully tries to block the publication of this book.

On Tuesday, he filed a lawsuit in a state court. He accused New York Times journalists Russell Buettner, David Barstow, and Susanne Craig of contacts and working with the niece. They also accused them of taking part in a “personal vendetta” against him.

The lawsuit reads, “A group of journalists with the New York Times, in the middle of an extensive crusade to obtain Donald J Trump’s confidential tax records, relentlessly sought out his niece Mary… and convinced her to smuggle the records out of her attorney’s office.”

It further alleges that Mr. Trump has suffered significant damages. It states that he is seeking compensation worth $100m. In her book, Ms. Trump further described how she supplied the tax documents to the New York Times. They used it to form a part of a 14000-word investigative article on Trump’s dubious tax schemes. It also includes the outright frauds that increased the fortune that he received from his parents.

Mr. Craig tweeted in response to the allegations. He also said that he knocked on Mar Trump’s door and opened it. He justified it as journalism.

The spokesperson of the New York Times, Danielle Rhoades, has also said that the coverage has helped to inform citizens of the meticulous reporting on the subject of overriding public interest. However, it is an attempt to silence the independence of news organizations.

Last year Ms. Trump filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump accused him of fraud and conspiracy. She also alleged that the president and his sister Maryanne Trump Barry and Robert Trump had cheated her of inheritance.

Credits: BBC