Judge quashes Trump bid to hide money he paid to former staffer in nondisclosure agreement settlement

Former President Donald Trump's effort to keep details of a settlement related to a past nondisclosure agreement lawsuit were dealt a setback on Monday.

Bloomberg News reports that US District Judge Paul Gardephe has ruled that Trump must disclose the amount of money he's paying to former staffer Jessica Denson, who had filed a legal challenge to Trump's mandate that all campaign staffers sign NDAs as a precondition to working for him.

"Under the settlement, the campaign agreed it would not enforce the nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements going forward, and there was a financial component as well," according to Bloomberg's report. "Denson was set to receive an incentive fee for pursuing the case for years, and the campaign also would pay her lawyers’ fees. Those amounts were redacted in documents filed in court a few weeks ago."

Attorneys representing Trump argued earlier this month that disclosing the terms of the settlement “would have a deleterious effect on, among other things, the Campaign’s future ability to negotiate similar agreements."

However, Gardephe rejected this reasoning and said that the only piece of information in the deal that should not become public was Denson's bank account number.

It is unclear whether the requirement for public disclosure will lead to the parties scrapping the settlement.