John Gerstrain | POLITICO
Donald Trump and his ex-wife Ivana are fighting an effort to unseal records of their 1990 divorce, arguing that the real estate mogul’s presidential bid is no basis for prying into court filings related to the couple’s split.
The Trumps filed separate legal briefs Tuesday in state court in Manhattan, urging a judge to reject the motion to unseal brought last month by Iand newspaper chain Gannett.
“Who wouldn’t want to see the Donald and Ivana Trump divorce papers from 1990? Anyone who is honest with themselves would have to say they want to see them. I sure want to see them if I take my lawyer hat off. But that’s not the real issue.
“The real issue is whether the public interest of having an opportunity to review court documents in this particular instance outweighs the litigants’ right to privacy. If the divorce only involved Donald, then I think the result would be obvious. We would see the documents, and they would be published for all the world to see.
“However, as one should know, divorce cases involve two spouses, and in this case, we are dealing with an ex-spouse who is not running for president of the United States (albeit she might be considered a public figure nonetheless).
“I don’t envy the judge assigned to this case for the tough decision he has been forced to make. I’m interested to see what happens. I also find it interesting that it is (or at least was at that time) standard practice in New York for divorce papers to be sealed only to be released if permission is requested and granted.
“Arizona courts have the exact opposite viewpoint. In fact, it has grown much harder to get cases sealed over the last few years, and courts here are opting to seal only certain documents in a divorce (usually those documents have something to do with the children involved in the marriage) rather than seal the entire file.”
~ Kaine Fisher
