The Daily Populous Wednesday June 17th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by lawandcrime.com and submitted by darealunrealspader

Attorneys for Donald Trump and his niece, Mary Trump, jointly told a judge on Tuesday, the day that depositions were supposed to be completed, that the adversaries have "reached a settlement."

"The parties are pleased to report they have reached a settlement and anticipate being able to stipulate to the dismissal of this action with prejudice in the ensuing weeks, following completion of certain conditions," a court filing said, asking New York Supreme Court Justice Robert Reed to adjourn a conference currently scheduled a week from now and to "direct the parties to report on the status of this case by July 1, 2026, in the event this action has yet to be discontinued."

The development comes weeks after Law&Crime reported on a significant discovery win by Mary Trump.

The New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division, First Department, ruled she was entitled as a matter of law to documents that could help her prove she was fraudulently induced into a 2001 Trump family settlement after Fred Trump Sr.'s death, raising the prospect of a "final resolution" in a long-running dispute.

The president's legal team, headed by attorney Michael Madaio, additionally alleged that Mary Trump, the New York Times, and Times reporters "maliciously conspir[ed] against him" in an "insidious plot" to expose his confidential tax records and accuse him of "outright fraud" in the Pulitzer Prize-winning story headlined, "Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father."

Reed relied on his 2022 ruling dismissing Mary Trump's inheritance fraud lawsuit against the president to bar her discovery requests, which her lawyer Ted Boutrous argued on appeal would "result in significant prejudice to Dr. Trump who, for all practical purposes, is now unable to effectively pursue one of her live affirmative defenses."

Despite the president's argument against his niece's attempt to "repackage her previously-dismissed fraud theory," the appellate court ultimately decided to boost the daughter of Fred Trump Jr.'s "affirmative defense" to her uncle's breach-of-contract lawsuit.

In mid-May, the parties told Reed that a short extension could "allow the parties to reach a final resolution" through a settlement.

Law&Crime sought comment from Madaio and Boutrous, but they did not immediately respond. Nor did Boutrous' co-counsel Lee Crain.

SpannerInTheWorx on June 17th, 2026 at 09:08 UTC »

I am so so very tired of hearing about this guy, all the time.

0thethethe0 on June 17th, 2026 at 08:23 UTC »

Was listening to an interview with her recently. She's ruthless when talking about him.

Choice-of-SteinsGate on June 17th, 2026 at 07:38 UTC »

The Mashed Potato Incident:

Donald Trump doesn't like when this story is told.

According to Mary Trump, this is a legendary Trump family story that she describes as an important moment when the president received a scarring taste of humiliation while at the same time discovering his appetite for humiliating others.

It happened when Donald was seven (keep this in mind). Donald had been tormenting his brother Robert at dinner, as he apparently did often. He refused to listen to his mother's pleas to stop.

Desperate to bring the fighting to an end, a14-year-old Freddy, who is Mary’s father and Donald's older brother, took matters into his own hands and dumped a bowl of mashed potatoes on Donald's head. Everyone in the room, except Donald, burst into laughter.

> "It was the first time Donald had been humiliated by someone he even then believed to be beneath him. He hadn't understood that humiliation was a weapon that could be wielded by only one person in a fight", Mary Trump wrote.

> "From then on, he would never allow himself to feel that feeling again. From them on, he would wield the weapon, never be at the sharp end of it", he never forgot the incident, Mary said.

Donald Trump held an intense grudge towards his brother and treated him poorly for the rest of his life.

When Trump's older sister Maryanne brought up the mashed potato incident at a gathering at the White House in 2017, the president "listened with his arms tightly crossed and a scowl on his face"... "He clearly still felt the sting of that long-ago humiliation."

There’s one particular quote from Trump that really brings it all together.

Around the time when Trump first received the Republican frontrunner nom, he was interviewed by a famous biographer, and during a rare moment of self reflection, Trump admitted to this biographer:

> "When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I’m basically the same. The temperament is not that different".

Coincidentally, first graders are usually around the age of seven years old.

With such a candid remark, Trump may have revealed that the mashed potato incident is a source of trauma for him and perhaps even the beginning of a life long pattern of behavior.

That same reporter also managed to get some insight into Donald's behavior from his ex wives:

> "The little boy that still wants attention," explained Marla Maples, Trump's second wife. She wasn't the only one who thought so.

> "He wants to be noticed," said Ivana Trump, wife No. 1, who recalled sending Trump into a fit of rage by skiing past him on a hill in Aspen, Colorado. Mr. Trump stopped, took off his skis and walked off the trail

> "He could not take it, that I could do something better than he did," she recalled

Trump has the mental and emotional intelligence of a child. He cannot cope with feelings of humiliation, failure, embarrassment, or loss. These are his greatest fears.

He is a petty, vindictive, malignant narcissist who seeks out constant attention, approval and applause from those willing to give it, sincerely or not. This helps him internalize these fears and validate the delusions he has about himself.

To Trump, life is a zero sum game—no matter the circumstances.

In his mind, Trump is always the winner, even in the face of irrefutable loss. His ego cannot tolerate any other narrative.

His compulsive need to be the winner and the constant center of attention is a product of his own deep seated insecurities. A pathology that was no doubt cultivated by his role model, Roy Cohn, who taught him to deny every allegation and always claim victory, regardless of the outcome.

This is why he so often uses pretentious and grandiose language to describe himself.

It's why Trump is so obsessed with his ratings. Why even when confronted with facts and data that expose his waning popularity, he has no other choice but to instinctively deny it.

It's why he cries "fake news" when encountering any criticism. Why he lashes out like a child bully when a reporter asks a legitimate or fair question that tries to hold him accountable or challenge one of his many inconsistencies, errors, lies...

Perhaps more importantly, it's why every election or competition that he's ever lost was conveniently "rigged" against him. It's why he never concedes defeat, and his only recourse is to accuse his opponents of "cheating."

It's why he is incapable of accepting responsibility for his own failures and mistakes. Why every investigation is a "witch hunt." Why every conviction is an act of "persecution." Why every journalist that does not shower him with praise is "nasty," "cruel," and "bad at their job."

It's why he mocks, belittles and taunts his political opponents, and why he so often resorts to slander and insults.

It's why every judge or person in a position of authority who presents an obstacle to Trump's unconstitutional agenda is an "activist," a "radical leftist," even a "traitor" who must be removed from power.

It's why he is weaponizing the justice department and every power of the federal government to seek retribution against all those who previously wronged him.

It's also why he threatens the careers of talk show hosts who tell jokes at his expense.

Let's also not forget that Trump is a notorious "cheater" himself. He is a habitual adulterer, a corrupt conman, a tax fraud, a financial pariah, a grifter, a pathological liar and demagogue who preaches faux-populist rhetoric despite being a kleptocratic thief who picks the American people's pockets while he shamelessly monetizes his presidency to the tune of billions.

He lies about his wealth, he lies about his accomplishments, he lies about his opponents, he lies about his crimes, he lies about his intentions, he lies about his popularity, he lies about himself, he lies about everything, and of course, he lies about elections.

While Donald Trump was accusing his opponents of "rigging" the 2020 election, he was scheming to overturn the results of that same free and fair election; which subsequently led to the events of January 6th.

Trump even lies about his golf game.

It's no secret that Donald Trump cheats at golf. He's been caught many times, even by professional athletes.

He brags about fabricated and inflated numbers of tournament wins. He lies about his scores, he sabotages his opponents and he's been accused of defrauding the sport entirely.

Donald Trump must protect his fragile ego by surrounding himself with flatterers, sycophants and loyalists, by constructing a safe space where he is free from humiliation, shame, embarrassment, failure... Mashed potatoes.

His pathology is rooted in a lifetime of lies, enablement, narcissistic delusions, unanswerable fraud, and compulsive cheating—all behaviors that stem from deep, lingering fears.

To Trump, losing an election or being humiliated by his opponents and critics amounts to a vivid and chilling reliving of The Mashed Potato Incident. His "Rose Spud" if you will.