President Trump has settled a $100 million lawsuit against his niece, Mary Trump, ending a legal battle that stemmed from her role in providing confidential tax documents to The New York Times for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 investigation into his family's finances.
Both parties announced the agreement in a joint filing Tuesday, according to court documents. The filing stated that they “are pleased to report that they have reached a settlement and anticipate being able to stipulate to the dismissal of this action with prejudice in the ensuing weeks, following completion of certain conditions precedent.” The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The Lawsuit’s Origins
Trump filed the suit in 2021, accusing his niece and The Times of engaging in “an insidious plot” to leak confidential information. The newspaper’s 2018 investigation, led by reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner, revealed that Trump had received at least $413 million (in today’s dollars) from his father’s real estate empire, aided by what the reporters described as “dubious tax schemes.” The series won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.
Trump alleged that Mary Trump, who had signed a confidentiality agreement in 2001, was “convinced” by the reporters to “smuggle records out of her attorney’s office and turn them over to The Times.” He claimed the journalists were “motivated by a personal vendetta” and that his niece sought to profit from the leak through her 2020 memoir, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
Legal Setbacks
A judge dismissed the lawsuit against The New York Times and its reporters in 2023, ordering Trump to pay nearly $400,000 in legal costs. The settlement with Mary Trump effectively ends the remaining claims. The dismissal with prejudice means Trump cannot refile the suit in the future.
The case had drawn attention to the ongoing tensions between Trump and his family, as well as his long-running efforts to keep his tax records private. The settlement comes as Trump faces a series of other legal challenges and policy debates, including his administration's approach to Iran negotiations and disputes over energy projects like the cancellation of offshore wind leases.
Neither Trump’s legal team nor Mary Trump’s attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment. The settlement marks the end of a years-long legal battle that had become a symbol of the president’s willingness to use litigation against perceived enemies.
