In a dramatic legal move, renowned author Michael Wolff has initiated a lawsuit against First Lady Melania Trump in a New York City court. The complaint arises from her purported attempts to prevent the release of Wolff’s upcoming exposé, which is rumored to delve into her connections with the infamous Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by the Daily News.
Wolff, famed for his quartet of bestsellers about President Donald Trump, alleges that Melania Trump has engaged in a campaign of intimidation, aiming to deter his investigation into the Trumps’ relationship with Epstein. This is according to the legal documents reviewed by the News.
The 17-page legal filing by Wolff states, “These legal threats are crafted to instill a culture of fear across the nation, stifling the free and confident exercise of First Amendment rights. Moreover, they aim to suppress legitimate inquiries into the Epstein issue.”
The legal action was taken by Wolff on Tuesday in the Manhattan Supreme Court. It details that Melania Trump allegedly threatened to pursue a $1 billion lawsuit against him unless he abandoned his book project and provided compensation by the stated deadline of 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Wolff, who claims extensive interviews with Epstein, stands by his revelations, asserting that Epstein confided that the Trumps’ initial sexual encounter occurred aboard Epstein’s notorious private jet.
Furthermore, Wolff maintains that the Trumps’ marriage is merely a “sham” and contends that Melania Trump plays a pivotal role in her husband’s efforts to distance himself from the politically damaging Epstein scandal.
The legal papers cite New York’s civil rights laws and the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which aims to prevent lawsuits intended to hinder one’s First Amendment rights, or “strategic lawsuits against public participation.”
Wolff says Melania Trump’s main goal is to use her husband’s virtually unchecked power to block publication of the forthcoming book, “The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump (Redux).”
“Significantly, the claims impede and chill future reporting and writing that Mr. Wolff has committed to doing regarding Epstein (and the Trumps),” the complaint adds.
Wolff claims Melania Trump’s effort to keep his book from being published is part of the President’s mostly successful effort to get major media outlets to bow to his demands for “unjustified payments and North Korean style confessions and apologies.”
CBS News and ABC News have both paid multimillion dollar settlements after Trump filed suits that most legal analysts initially dismissed as flimsy or worse.
Trump has also filed huge lawsuits against the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times over critical reporting.
Wolff revealed some salacious details of Melania and Donald Trump’s cozy ties to Epstein in a podcast with the Daily Beast in July. The news site later retracted and apologized to Melania Trump for a story it published based on the claims made by Wolff.
The Trumps admit having been very good friends with Epstein and convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell from Palm Beach social circles.
President Trump says he cut off ties after the super wealthy sex trafficker “poached” female Mar-a-Lago employees and acted like a “creep.”
Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in Manhattan federal court. Maxwell is serving a federal prison sentence after being convicted of aiding and taking part in his sex-trafficking scheme
Trump and his MAGA allies repeatedly called for release of all government files related to the Epstein scandal before he won back the White House.
He pulled a U-turn after Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed him that his name appeared many times in the files, although there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by him.
Trump now derides the outcry over Epstein as a “Democrat hoax.” His Republican allies are battling to prevent critics from passing a measure demanding the release of all the files.
