Author Michael Wolff has filed a lawsuit against First Lady Melania Trump, alleging that she attempted to silence him with a colossal legal threat.
Wolff’s preemptive lawsuit, filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court, comes after Mrs. Trump’s lawyers demanded he retract statements linking her to Jeffrey Epstein and pay over $1 billion in damages. Wolff refused to meet the October 15 deadline set by the First Lady’s legal team, choosing instead to escalate the fight.
Allegations of Intimidation and the Epstein Connection
In his filing, Wolff accuses Melania and Donald Trump of routinely using legal threats—often referred to as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)—as a weapon to intimidate critics and stifle free speech.
The author claims the threats are specifically designed to “create a climate of fear” to discourage media investigation into the Trumps’ relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail while awaiting sex trafficking charges.
The True Goal: Forcing Testimony
The lawsuit’s most significant move is Wolff’s declared intent to use the case to force both President Donald Trump and Melania Trump to testify under oath about their connections to Epstein. Wolff argues that the question of Melania Trump’s role in Epstein’s social circle is a “fair inquiry.”
The filing defends Wolff’s previous claims, including assertions that:
- Melania Trump was “very involved” in Epstein’s social circle, where she first met Donald Trump.
- The couple’s first sexual encounter reportedly took place aboard Epstein’s private jet.
Melania Trump’s spokesperson, Nicholas Clemens, responded to the filing by stating the First Lady “will continue standing up to those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods for attention and money.”
This case is set to become a high-stakes legal battle centered on journalistic freedom and the Trumps’ ties to the Epstein scandal.
