Those of us in the Alabama political media world who long have interacted with Cliff Sims are far from surprised that the former aide to President Trump is now roiling the waters, earning Trump’s ire, and drawing threats of a lawsuit because of his “tell all” book on the Trump White House. We also don’t expect Sims ever to lose his public equanimity, or to become easily fazed, much less back down.

Sims’ new book, Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House, professes continued admiration for Trump himself. But it trashes numerous Trump aides while describing seriously dysfunctional White House operations. Lawyers for Trump say Sims’ book violates a nondisclosure agreement he signed when he first began working for the orange-tinted billionaire. Most lawyers whose comments I’ve seen say the suit likely puts Sims at little risk because NDAs are largely unenforceable when they involve nonclassified information related to public service.