Donald Trump sues niece Mary, NY Times for 2018 report on tax evasion

Former US President Donald Trump on Wednesday took legal action against his niece and The New York Times over a story about his family’s wealth and tax practices published in 2018. According to the reports, the data that was proffered by his niece, Mary Trump, was confidential and was against the agreement between the family members for not disclosing tax records that she received in a dispute over family patriarch Fred Trump’s estate.

In a lawsuit filed in state court in New York, Trump accused the NY Times and three of its investigative reporters, Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner of reaching out to his niece to get the information from confidential documents. 

According to the suit, the reporters were aware that the settlement agreement barred Marry Trump from disclosing the documents. The former US President alleged that the documents were accessed in order to use as a political weapon. As per the suit, Trump is seeking $100 million in damages. The reputed newspaper story challenged the former US President's claims of self-made wealth by documenting how his father, Fred, had given him at least $413 million over the decades, including through tax avoidance schemes. Though the story didn't reveal its "sources" at the time of publishing in 2018, it was Mary who identified herself in a book published last year.

'I think he is a loser... it's desperation': Mary Trump 

Donald Trump's lawsuit stated that the defendants "engaged in an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly-sensitive records which they exploited for their own benefit and utilized as a means of falsely legitimizing their publicized works." 

Meanwhile, in a statement to NBC News, Mary Trump termed her uncle "a loser" and said the lawsuit showed his desperation for power. "I think he is a loser, and he is going to throw anything against the wall he can. It’s desperation. The walls are closing in and he is throwing anything against the wall that he thinks will stick. As is always the case with Donald, he’ll try and change the subject," Mary Trump said.

Meanwhile, Danielle Rhoads Ha, a Times spokesperson said the action taken by Trump "is an attempt to silence independent news organizations". He added that the media organisation has planned to vigorously defend against the lawsuit filed by the former US President. It is worth mentioning that 56-year-old Mary Trump is the daughter of Donald Trump’s brother, Fred Trump Jr. He died in 1981 at the age of 42 when Mary Trump was only 16.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP)