Former Trump campaign staffer sues to void NDA that she says violates First Amendment rights

• A former Trump 2016 campaign staffer is seeking to void nondisclosure agreements that workers were required to sign in their job contracts.
• Jessica Denson, who worked as the Hispanic outreach director, said the NDAs are in violation of her First Amendment rights, The Washington Post reports.
• "I have spent the past three years defending my rights of conscience, let alone my Constitutional and statutory rights, in the face of the Trump campaign's cruel and relentless attempts to claim ownership of my voice and my livelihood," Denson said.
• A motion for summary judgement was filed last week for Denson's lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court.

A former Trump campaign staffer is seeking release from the nondisclosure agreement she was required to sign upon employment, which she claims violates her First Amendment rights by barring her from criticizing President Donald Trump "forever."

Jessica Denson, who worked as the Hispanic outreach director of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, has sued to nullify all Trump campaign NDAs, The Washington Post reports.

The class-action lawsuit filed in June in the New York Supreme Court is the latest push by Denson against her former employer, which has fended off multiple legal challenges from her for years concerning the NDA.

The motion for summary judgement of the case, filed by lawyers last week on behalf of Denson and other 2016 campaign workers, said the nondisclosure and non-disparagement contract is "plainly conceived as a tool to silence critics of the President and has repeatedly been used to that end."

The agreement's language, they allege, is too vague to be enforced, as it prohibits Denson from disclosing any information that Trump "unilaterally deems private forever."

The lawyers also contend the contract is overwhelmingly broad, pointing out the NDA form binds signatories during "the term of your service and at all times thereafter."

The "contract prohibits truthful political speech and expressions of negative opinions about the President of the United States, who is currently running for re-election," her lawyers wrote. "This gag on core political speech is anathema to the First Amendment and the New York State Constitution and has no place in our democracy."

The former campaign aide also argues the agreement is an unreasonable post-employment restriction and therefore unenforceable under New York contract law, as it does not serve the Trump campaign's interests and causes undue burden on its staff.

Denson said the campaign has sought $1.5 million in damages after she filed charges on claims of sexual discrimination and harassment in 2017, as well as criticized the president on social media, according to the summary judgement.

"I have spent the past three years defending my rights of conscience, let alone my Constitutional and statutory rights, in the face of the Trump campaign's cruel and relentless attempts to claim ownership of my voice and my livelihood," Denson said.

Her attorney, David Bowles, told The Washington Post that they hope to win the case prior to Election Day, so hundreds of employees are encouraged to speak about Trump after their NDAs are voided.

The Trump 2016 campaign has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting it is a repeat of a battle Denson previously lost, according to Bloomberg. Denson has insisted the court had not explicitly addressed the NDA.