Officials with the 2016 presidential campaign for Donald Trump have filed arbitration action against former White House aide and “The Apprentice” star Omarosa Manigault Newman, according to multiple reports.
Campaign officials are filing a claim with the American Arbitration Association in New York, in which they say Manigault Newman's book, "Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House," and the media tour preceding its release Tuesday breached a 2016 confidentiality agreement, the Associated Press reported, citing a campaign aide.
An unidentified Trump campaign official confirmed the arbitration filing Tuesday in a statement to CNN.
The president said Monday that “Wacky Omarosa,” who recently released audio recordings that she says were made during her time in the White House, signed a non-disclosure agreement.
She has previously acknowledged that she signed a confidentiality agreement with the Trump campaign in 2016.
Still, Manigault Newman released a recording over the weekend allegedly taken in December, while Chief of Staff John Kelly was informing Manigault Newman of her dismissal from the White House.
"It's come to my attention over the last few months that there's been some pretty, in my opinion, significant integrity issues," a man, purportedly Kelly, can be heard saying in the recording. "I think it's important to understand that if we make this a friendly departure ... you can look at your time here in the White House as a year of service to the nation, and then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation."
Newman told "Meet the Press" that she believed the latter comment was a threat.
In another clip released by Manigault Newman allegedly featured the president, who said in the recording that he was surprised to hear of her firing.
"Nobody even told me about it. You know they run a big operation, but I didn't know it," a man, purportedly Trump, says in the recording. "I don't love you leaving at all."
>> Listen to the clip (WARNING: Audio includes strong language.)
Manigault Newman says she has also heard audio tape of Trump using the N-word, a claim the president denies.
Manigault Newman served as the director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison until January, when reports surfaced that she was "physically dragged" from the White House. Secret Service officials later denied Manigault Newman was physically removed from the premises.
She was one of Trump's most prominent African-American supporters. The president thanked her in February during an event for African-American History Month, saying that she was "very special."
"I want to thank my television star over here," Trump said at the Feb. 1 event, referencing Manigault Newman's time on his reality show competition, "The Apprentice."
Check back for updates to this developing story.
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