D onald Trump’s $5 billion libel lawsuit against TrumpNation author Timothy O’Brien and his publisher, Warner Books, might appear to be as ridiculous as the Donald’s do, but Warner Books is taking it seriously enough to hire Mary Jo White, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District. Her hiring also helps explain why Trump filed in Camden County, New Jersey, where his golf buddy, George Norcross II, the state’s behind-the-scenes political kingmaker, holds court. In 2001, Norcross, an exec at Commerce Bank, was caught on tape boasting of having engineered a judgeship for a political foe “just to get rid of him.” Norcross’s claim to control the New Jersey courts was only bluster, his longtime lawyer, William Tambussi, said at the time. Tambussi has also been retained by Trump in his suit. (Norcross and Tambussi did not return calls.) Trump says even mentioning Norcross’s political connections in relation to his libel suit is misleading and unfair. He promises that a “numbers to numbers” accounting of his books will “totally win my case.”

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Geoffrey Gray
• Table of Contents: Mar 13, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!