Author Michael Wolff has initiated legal action against US First Lady Melania Trump, alleging that she threatened him with a lawsuit exceeding $1 billion unless he retracted statements associating her with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit was officially filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court on Tuesday, as reported by the Associated Press.
Wolff, renowned for his bestselling works on President Donald Trump, disclosed that the threat came following his comments to The Daily Beast and statements made in three social media videos. Melania Trump’s legal representative had stipulated an October 15 deadline for Wolff to offer an apology, retract his statements, and provide compensation, demands that Wolff declined to meet.
Nicholas Clemens, spokesperson for Melania Trump, affirmed that the First Lady is committed to confronting individuals who propagate false and defamatory claims for personal gain and attention.
The lawsuit alleges that Melania and Donald Trump employ legal threats as a means to silence dissenting voices. Wolff contends that the couple habitually deploys the threat of expensive litigation to suppress free speech, coerce apologies, and intimidate journalists.
Wolff argues that these threats are designed to instill fear and dissuade the media from investigating the Trumps’ connections to Epstein, the financier who passed away in custody in 2019 while facing allegations of sex trafficking.
The lawsuit seeks to compel the president and First Lady to provide sworn testimony regarding their interactions with Epstein, whom Wolff had interviewed prior to his demise.
Wolff clarified that he never accused Melania Trump of criminal involvement with Epstein. He maintained that his statements were fair, justified opinions, and constitutionally protected speech.
The lawsuit emphasizes that Wolff’s book contained accurate assertions, including Melania Trump’s purported close association with Epstein’s social circle, where she reportedly first encountered Donald Trump. It also alleges that Donald Trump engaged in relationships with acquaintances’ spouses and that his initial intimate encounter with Melania Trump purportedly occurred on Epstein’s private aircraft.
The lawsuit posits that investigating Melania Trump’s role in the Epstein saga is a legitimate inquiry, highlighting a decade of interactions between Trump and Epstein involving models.
Earlier this year, Donald Trump disparaged Wolff as a “Third Rate Reporter” and denounced his forthcoming book as “a total FAKE JOB.”