A New York judge has rejected a request from The New York Times and the Gannett newspaper chain to unseal Donald Trump's 25-year-old divorce file from his separation from his first wife, Ivana. The Times had argued that the confidential documents should be released in order to help the public determine Trump's fitness as a presidential candidate; the court disagreed.
"Were the court to make the confidential records available for journalistic, and thus public, scrutiny, it would impermissibly inject itself into the political process by making the value judgment of what information is useful in determining the present candidate's, or any other candidate's, fitness for office. The court's role in the electoral process is strictly limited to determining whether a candidate complies with the Election Law. The court will not take an action that exceeds that limitation," Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Frank Nervo said, as reported by Politico.
It has been alleged that during the divorce, Ivana Trump accused Donald Trump of raping her; the Trump Organization once attempted to dismiss such rumors by asserting that you "can't rape your spouse." Ivana Trump also clarified that it was not her belief she had been raped and reports as such were "misinterpreted statements and allegations." Both Donald Trump and Ivana Trump opposed unsealing the documents, with Ivana Trump stressing that her privacy should not be compromised for the sake of revealing information about her former husband.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If the court were to deprive the candidate party of his rights ... on the ground that there may be something in the confidential file that would be useful in determining his fitness for office, that ground does not exist in the case of his former wife, who is not a candidate," Nervo agreed.
-
5 health-conscious cartoons about anti-vaccine rhetoricCartoons Artists take on RFK Jr's militant methods, the viral lottery, and more
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
