It did not take long for Donald Trump to hit back at his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, after excerpts of the explosive book, Fire and Fury hit the media. The book’s author, Michael Wolff, relied heavily on Bannon for details. Now, we see the extreme result when Trump does not get the loyalty he demands. The former White House strategist is bearing the brunt of it right now.
The president immediately turned to his attorneys to get even with Bannon. For some reason, he asked them to send a “Cease and Desist” letter to his former friend. This sounded a little strange, because it came too late. The book is already in print, so what is Trump trying to accomplish?
The White House released this statement after the book hit the media, according to ABC:
‘Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party. Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look. Steve had very little to do with our historic victory, which was delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country. Yet Steve had everything to do with the loss of a Senate seat in Alabama held for more than thirty years by Republicans. Steve doesn’t represent my base — he’s only in it for himself.’
Bannon responded on Breitbart News’ Sirius XM show. ABC reported:
‘The president of the United States is a great man. You know I support him, day in and day out, whether going through the country giving the Trump miracle speech or on the show or on the website.’
The attorney’s letter demanded that Bannon stop making disparaging comments about him or any of his family, which includes his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Donald Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, wrote in his letter:
‘This law firm represents President Donald J. Trump and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. On behalf of our clients, legal notice was issued today to Stephen K. Bannon, that his actions of communicating with author Michael Wolff regarding an upcoming book give rise to numerous legal claims including defamation by libel and slander, and breach of his written confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement with our clients. Legal action is imminent.’
Does that mean Trump will actually sue the former executive of his campaign? The letter continued:
‘You (Bannon) have breached the Agreement by, among other things, communicating with author Michael Wolff about Mr. Trump, his family members, and the Company, disclosing Confidential Information to Mr. Wolff, and making disparaging statements and in some cases outright defamatory statements to Mr. Wolff about Mr. Trump, his family members, and the Company, knowing that they would be included in Mr. Wolff’s book and publicity surrounding the marketing and sale of
his book.’
As many times as Trump has been sued or sued others, he should know that taking Bannon to court would split the inner workings of the Trump family wide open for everyone to see:
‘Remedies for your breach of the agreement include but are not limited to monetary damages, injunctive relief and all other remedies available at law and equity,’
Harder then referred to the agreement Bannon signed when he began working on the presidential campaign in 2016:
‘Consent to Injunction. A breach of any of your promises or agreements under this agreement will cause the Company, Mr. Trump and each other Trump Person irreparable harm. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by law, and without waiving any other rights or remedies against you at law or in equity, you hereby consent to the entry of any order, without prior notice to you, temporarily or permanently enjoining you from violating any of the terms, covenants, agreements or provisions of this agreement on your part to be performed or observed. Such consent is intended to apply to an injunction of any breach or threatened breach.’
Then, the attorney wrote about the “Damages and Other Remedies” section of the agreement:
‘Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, each Trump Person will be entitled to all remedies available at law and equity, including but not limited to monetary damages, in the event of your breach of this agreement. Nothing contained in this agreement will constitute a waiver of any Trump Person’s remedies at law or in equity, all of which are expressly reserved.’
Harder sums up near the end of his letter:
‘Further, as the prevailing party in any litigation arising out of your breach of the Agreement, Mr. Trump and the Company will be entitled to ‘an award of reasonable legal fees and costs.’
Trump often threatens lawsuits. However, the agreement Bannon signed during the campaign does not apply to his time in the White House. Plus, once people are working in the West Wing, everything becomes public knowledge.
Featured Image via Getty Images.
H/T: ABC.
