A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out author Michael Wolff\u2019s lawsuit against first lady Melania Trump, refusing to let him use the courts to pre-empt a threatened $1 billion defamation action over comments he made about her and Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, said Wolff\u2019s filing showed an \u201cinappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship.\u201d She would not be \u201cconscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat,\u201d she wrote, even while acknowledging that the two sides have a \u201creal dispute.\u201d Federal court had jurisdiction, she found, but she declined to exercise it and dismissed the case so the fight could proceed \u201clike any other.\u201d<\/p>\n
The clash began after Melania Trump\u2019s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, sent Wolff a demand letter last year. The letter said statements Wolff made about the first lady and Epstein had caused her \u201coverwhelming reputational and financial harm.\u201d It told him to retract the remarks, apologize, and pay damages, warning that otherwise she would have \u201cno alternative\u201d but to sue for more than $1 billion. Wolff responded by suing her first, in New York state court, in October. Brito then moved the case to federal court.<\/p>\n
Wolff argued that the president and first lady have made a practice of threatening critics with expensive litigation \u201cto silence their speech, to intimidate their critics generally, and to extract unjustified payments and North Korean-style confessions and apologies.\u201d He said some of his comments were taken out of context and others were protected opinion, including a remark that the Trumps have a \u201csham marriage, trophy marriage.\u201d His complaint also said he never accused Melania Trump of criminal conduct tied to Epstein.<\/p>\n
The first lady has denied any association with Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges. In an April White House statement she said, \u201cThe lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.\u201d She added that those spreading the claims \u201care devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect\u201d and that she rejected \u201cmean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.\u201d She also said Epstein did not introduce her to Donald Trump and that she met her husband at a New York party in 1998.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said Melania Trump \u201cis proud to continue standing up to, and fighting against, those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dispute was fueled in part by a Daily Beast article last summer titled \u201cMelania Trump \u2018Very Involved\u2019 in Epstein Scandal: Author,\u201d based on an interview with Wolff. After Brito sent a letter, the outlet retracted the piece and apologized. Wolff later said he had been describing the first lady as involved \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d in how the White House handled the Epstein matter, not as a participant in Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n
The legal fight sits against a broader political argument over Epstein files and victims. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace praised Melania Trump for standing with victims and pointed to her advocacy against the distribution of fake intimate images. Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia said he agreed with the first lady\u2019s call for a public hearing and urged House Oversight Chairman James Comer to schedule one. In her April remarks, Melania Trump said Congress should act and allow victims to testify under oath.<\/p>\n
Wolff, who has written multiple books about Donald Trump, has said he wants to put the first couple under oath about Epstein. After the dismissal he indicated he would keep pressing that goal and pursue an appeal. Melania Trump\u2019s lawyers have separately sought sanctions, arguing Wolff raced to court to manufacture publicity and a legal shield before she could file her own case.<\/p>\n
The judge did not decide whether Wolff\u2019s statements were defamatory. She only refused to let him skip the ordinary sequence of litigation. The underlying fight over speech, reputation, and Epstein remains unresolved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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