First Lady Melania Trump faces an unprecedented legal challenge from veteran journalist Michael Wolff, who has filed a lawsuit accusing her of attempting to silence his reporting and destroy his reputation through threats of massive legal action.
The case marks the first time Melania Trump has been sued as First Lady and appears to be the first time a president’s wife has been subject to court action. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Wolff claims Melania deliberately and maliciously interfered with his publishing contract and defamed him in public statements tied to his forthcoming book, The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump (Redux).
Wolff alleges Trump sent a threat letter demanding he apologize by Tuesday over false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements he allegedly made about the First Lady and her connection to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, or be sued for $1 billion in damages. The letter came from her attorney Alejandro Brito following controversial remarks Wolff made during interviews with The Daily Beast.
In those interviews, Wolff told the Daily Beast Melania was very involved in the Epstein scandal and could be the missing link in President Trump’s ties to Epstein, among other allegations her attorneys firmly denied. The journalist had been considering writing a book about Epstein when the legal threats arrived.
Wolff says Melania and her team delivered false and damaging claims he fabricated interviews, intimidated sources, and manufactured lies for profit, scaring off international distributors that caused him to lose a multi million dollar book deal. The author asserts he possesses evidence showing Melania personally instructed a public relations firm to contact media outlets and threaten legal action if they covered his book project, describing it as a calculated campaign to destroy his reputation and livelihood.
Rather than retreating, Wolff has countered with his own legal action. He is using so-called anti-SLAPP laws for the case, which ban powerful people from using legal actions to shut down journalism, known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. His filing argues that Mrs. Trump and her unitary executive husband along with their MAGA myrmidons have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them with costly SLAPP actions to silence critics and extract what he calls North Korean style confessions and apologies.
Wolff said bringing the case was a difficult decision and noted, I did not want to be in a lawsuit, but I also am a journalist and have been one for 40 years. The author of four books about President Trump, including the 2018 number one bestseller Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, explained his motivation goes beyond this immediate dispute.
Wolff is asking the court to shut down Melania Trump’s threats and pay punitive damages, and to allow him to question her and her husband under oath about their relationships with Epstein. He stated he looks forward to asking Melania and Donald Trump about matters at issue in this case, including their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, under oath and in the presence of a court reporter.
The legal filing alleges Mrs. Trump’s claims impede and chill future reporting and writing that Mr. Wolff has committed to doing regarding Epstein, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Trump. In many respects that is the primary purpose of these claims. His attorneys argue the libel allegations Melania made lack substantial basis in law or in fact and cannot overcome constitutional protections for free speech.
Wolff is asking the judge for declarations that the assertions in his book are not defamatory and if Melania continues to try to harass, intimidate and block him from publishing the book she would be liable to him for damages. He’s also seeking coverage of his legal fees along with compensatory and punitive damages.
This isn’t the first time the First Lady has threatened legal action over Epstein related claims. Previously, Melania threatened to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion after he repeated Wolff’s claim that she was introduced to her husband by Epstein. The younger Biden had discussed the allegations during a Daily Beast podcast interview and later on Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan.
The Daily Beast, which published Wolff’s original claims about the First Lady, has since apologized for the story. However, Wolff co-hosts the publication’s hit podcast Inside Trump’s Head with Joanna Coles, and his professional relationship with the outlet continues.
President Trump has repeatedly called Wolff a third rate reporter and criticized his previous books about the administration. The author’s earlier works, including Fire and Fury and Siege, drew strong reactions from the president and his aides for their insider depictions of life inside the Trump White House.
Representatives for Melania Trump have not yet responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit. The White House also declined to provide a statement when asked about the legal complaint. As of this writing, the filing had not been reviewed or approved by the County Clerk.
Legal experts suggest the case could have significant implications beyond the immediate parties involved. If Wolff prevails, it might embolden other journalists facing similar intimidation tactics from powerful figures. Conversely, if Melania’s threatened lawsuit proceeds, it could create a chilling effect on reporting about public figures and their connections to controversial cases like the Epstein scandal.
The confrontation highlights ongoing tensions between press freedom and defamation law, particularly when powerful political figures use the threat of massive lawsuits to discourage unflattering coverage. With both sides now locked in legal combat, the dispute promises to test the boundaries of protected speech and journalistic inquiry at the highest levels of American power.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
