Former White House aide Cliff Sims, the author of a tell-all book over his time in the Trump administration, said Tuesday he is suing President Donald Trump because he won't allow himself to be bullied by the president into backing down on his claims.
"I'm probably the least litigious person you can imagine," Sims told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I never sued anybody in my life, but I got backed into a corner."
He added that one of the themes of his book, "Team of Vipers," is about how President Donald Trump "steamrolled weak-willed members of Congress."
"He doesn't respond to weakness, and ultimately, I don't like bullies and I wasn't going to allow myself to be bullied," said Sims.
Trump's campaign last month said it plans to sue Sims, accusing him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by publishing his book. Sims said Tuesday that other former staffers like former aide Corey Lewandowski and ex-Press Secretary Sean Spicer have written books, and he assumes they also signed the same thing he did.
Sims' attorney, Mark S. Zaid, told MSNBC that federal employees have a First Amendment right to publish unclassified material and that his client's book did not have anything that was classified.
"It's all about his 500 days in the White House," said Zaid. "This is a subterfuge effort by the Trump White House to try to silence Cliff and intimidate anyone else who might come after him. It is not going to be permitted to occur."
Zaid added that as part of the lawsuit, his team will try to depose Trump himself.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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