The arbitrator, T. Andrew Brown, ruled last September that the nondisclosure agreement Trump and his campaign required Omarosa Manigault Newman to sign was too sweeping to be legally enforceable. Under the language in the agreement, almost any fact about Trump or his family members that he wanted to keep secret was presumptively confidential.
Brown’s ruling voiding the nondisclosure agreement tracked with a similar decision in March 2021 from a federal judge in New York who concluded that a similar Trump campaign agreement was too vague to apply.
Under the terms of the campaign’s agreement, the prevailing party in any arbitration arising from the agreement would be entitled to his or her attorneys’ fees. Brown concluded that Manigault Newman was the victor in the dispute and, therefore, entitled to recoup her legal fees and litigation costs.
✱ Manigault Newman’s attorney, John M. Phillips said “It’s the largest known attorney fee award against a Political Campaign or President”.
✱ Phillips said Trump’s campaign paid it’s own lawyers $3-4 million.
✱ A person familiar with Trump’s legal plans told POLITICO, “We are going to challenge the award in court.”
The Republican National Committee paid law firms representing former President Donald Trump’s personal interests another $350,000 in March, according to a financial report filed Wednesday evening with the Federal Election Commission.
The Republican Party agreed to cover up to $1.6 million of Trump’s legal bills as he fights investigations in New York regarding his business practices, the Washington Post reported in December.
