A New York court on Thursday rejected a bid to halt the publication of a book from Mary Trump, a niece of President Donald Trump.
Queens County Surrogate Court Judge Peter Kelly said the court “is preemptively improper,” as the relief Robert Trump seeks should be sought in the state Supreme Court.
In a statement to news outlets, Robert Trump’s lawyer, Charles Harder, said he will file in another court.
“Robert Trump, Mary Trump, and the other family members who settled in 2001, agreed to jurisdiction of future disputes in the Surrogate’s Court of Queens County, New York. This matter therefore was filed in that court,” he said.
“Today, the Surrogate’s Court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction over the dispute. Therefore, Robert Trump will proceed with filing a new lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court.”
Ted Boutrous, who is representing Mary Trump, said in a statement that the court correctly held it lacks jurisdiction in the matter, calling Robert Trump’s attempt to block the book’s publication “baseless.”
“We hope this decision will end the matter. Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas, and neither this court nor any other has authority to violate the Constitution by imposing a prior restraint on core political speech,” he said.
Mary Trump, the president’s only niece, lives in New York with her daughter, according to Simon & Schuster, the publisher.
She’s described as a trained clinical psychologist, with a PhD from the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies.
The book shows a young, smiling Donald Trump. It’s titled: “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” The list price is $28.
