Trump biographer to advise Michael Bloomberg's campaign

Does billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have a Trump-specific ace up his sleeve?

Bloomberg, who officially launched his Democratic presidential bid Sunday, is bringing journalist Tim O'Brien onto his campaign as a senior adviser. O'Brien is leaving his role as executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion, so the move makes sense, generally speaking (the opinion section is reportedly the aspect of the media company that its namesake remains most heavily involved in). But there's another reason O'Brien might've been chosen.

In 2005, O'Brien published a biography about President Trump called TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald, in which he wrote that Trump was nowhere close to being a billionaire. The book ultimately led to Trump suing O'Brien for libel in 2011, and the two faced off in court where O'Brien's lawyers reportedly got Trump to acknowledge 30 times that he had lied about various aspects of his life from his wealth to the cost of a membership to one of his golf clubs. During the litigation, Trump was also forced to hand over his elusive tax returns to O'Brien's representation.

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So, in short, O'Brien knows some stuff. His reputation as a Trump expert has led to various news organizations frequently reaching out to him for comment. Now he'll presumably use some of that knowledge in an attempt to supplant the president. Of course, Bloomberg would have to get through the crowded Democratic field first.