Author Michael Wolff has filed a lawsuit against first lady Melania Trump. He alleges that she attempted to intimidate him into stopping his reporting on her and her husband’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker.
Wolff’s allegations
In the suit, filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court, Wolff claims that Melania Trump threatened him with a $1 billion lawsuit to prevent him from writing about the Epstein connection.
“Mrs. Trump’s claims are made for the sole purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting Mr. Wolff’s free exercise of speech,“ the complaint reads.
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According to NBC News, Melania Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, sent Wolff a letter demanding an apology for recent comments about the first lady and Epstein, and suggested he make a “monetary proposal to Mrs. Trump to ameliorate the harm that you have caused.”
The letter referenced comments Wolff made to The Daily Beast in an article titled “Melania Trump Very Involved in Epstein Scandal: Author.” The outlet later retracted the story and issued an apology, saying the piece did not meet its editorial standards.
Melania Trump responds
In a statement on Wednesday, the Office of the first lady said that she “is proud to continue standing up to those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct.”
Wolff maintains he did not defame the first lady and that his statements were taken out of context. He said that her legal threats are part of an effort “to shut down legitimate inquiry into the Epstein matter.”
Trump and Epstein: A history
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were friends in the 1990s, but Trump has said their relationship ended around 2004.
When asked in 2019 about Epstein’s federal sex trafficking charges, Trump told reporters he was “not a fan of his.”
In July, Trump explained further that the falling out occurred after Epstein allegedly poached employees from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump said he ended the friendship after Epstein ignored warnings to stop.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death has fueled numerous conspiracy theories about his connections and final days.
Following his filing of the lawsuit, Wolff stated, “I’d like nothing better than to get Donald Trump and Melania Trump under oath in front of a court reporter and actually find out all of the details of their relationship with Epstein.”
He added that the first lady’s legal threats are meant to shut down legitimate inquiry into the Epstein matter.
