Journalist Michael Wolff is accusing first lady Melania Trump of trying to block the publication of his upcoming tell-all book about her life and of stifling his “legitimate inquiry” into her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Wolff, 72, who has published four books about President Donald Trump, alleges that Melania, 55, “deliberately and maliciously” interfered with his publishing contract tied to the book The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump (Redux) and made defamatory public statements, court documents obtained by TMZ revealed.
This appears to be the first time a sitting first lady has been the subject of court action, according to the Daily Beast.
That interference allegedly included “scaring off” international distributors by accusing him of fabricating interviews, intimidating sources and manufacturing “lies for profit.”
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Wolff claims to have evidence that the first lady personally instructed a PR firm to tell media outlets that she would take legal action if they covered the book.
In documents obtained by The Wrap, Wolff alleges that Melania sent him a threatening letter, demanding he apologize for the “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements” made about her alleged connection to the Epstein scandal. She allegedly threatened to sue him for $1 billion in damages.
Among the “extremely salacious” statements that Melania took issue with is Wolff’s allegation that the first lady slept with the current president for the first time on Epstein’s private jet.
Wolff’s attorney said in response that the journalist was merely asking “important questions that deserve inquiry” and that he was considering writing a book about Epstein.
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Wolff’s complaint alleges 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 in order to silence their speech, to intimidate their critics generally and to extract unjustified payments and North Korea-style confession and apologies.”
“These threatened legal actions are designed to create a climate of fear in the nation so that people cannot freely or confidently exercise their First Amendment rights,” the document continued. “The threats are also intended to shut down legitimate inquiry into the Epstein matter, which the Trumps and their collaborators have at every turn sought to impede and suppress.”
Wolff is asking the court to order Melania to stop threatening him and to pay punitive damages. He is also requesting the court allow him to question Melania and her husband under oath about their relationships with Epstein.
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“As a reporter, I’ve never had the opportunity to ask someone questions when their answers have to be given under an oath and in the presence of a court reporter,” he told the Daily Beast in a story published Wednesday, October 22. “I look forward to asking Melania and Donald Trump about the matters at issue in this case including their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Wolff has been at odds with the Trump family for years, with Donald referring to him as a “Third Rate Reporter, who is laughed at even by the scoundrels of the Fake News” in a post via Truth Social in June.
