- Michael Wolff sued First Lady Melania Trump, invoking New York anti-SLAPP laws after her threatened $1 billion defamation demand over Epstein-related claims.
- Wolff seeks to depose Melania and Donald Trump under oath to probe alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein and challenge intimidation tactics.
- Case spotlights free-speech concerns, alleged Trump legal intimidation, and potential political fallout as Epstein connections resurface ahead of 2025.
In a stunning turn of events that’s got everyone in Washington and beyond talking, bestselling author Michael Wolff has filed a lawsuit against First Lady Melania Trump, accusing her of trying to muzzle him with threats of a massive $1 billion defamation suit.
This all stems from comments Wolff made linking Melania to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose ties to powerful figures continue to stir up controversy years after his death.
Wolff, who’s no stranger to dropping bombshells about the Trump family—he’s penned four books on Donald Trump, including the blockbuster Fire and Fury—says he didn’t want to go to court but felt backed into a corner.
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In his filing in New York State court, he leans on the state’s anti-SLAPP laws, which are designed to protect folks from lawsuits meant to shut down public discourse.
“I did not want to be in a lawsuit, but I also am a journalist and have been one for 40 years,” Wolff said in a statement.
“I’ve written four books about Donald Trump and have never been sued. Mrs. Trump’s threatened lawsuit is what lawyers call a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, a SLAPP suit.
Its purpose was to intimidate and silence me, as Donald Trump has done to so many news organizations and reporters.”
The core of the dispute?
Wolff allegedly claimed on a podcast that Epstein once bragged about Melania first sleeping with Donald Trump on his private jet—salacious stuff that Melania’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, called “false, defamatory, and lewd” in a letter demanding over $1 billion in damages.
That podcast episode, part of The Daily Beast’s Inside Trump’s Head, led to the outlet retracting an article and yanking parts of the audio after Melania complained.
They even issued an apology: “In response to a letter from the First Lady’s attorneys, The Daily Beast has also removed a portion of an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast titled ‘Trump’s Epstein Scandal Can’t Stop Won’t Stop’ referencing the First Lady.
The First Lady points to her best-selling book Melania as the definitive account of her life story. We apologize to the First Lady and our readers.”
A Chance to Question the Trumps of Epstein-Connection Under Oath
But Wolff isn’t backing down. His suit doesn’t just defend his right to speak; it flips the script, asking the court to let him question Melania and President Donald Trump under oath about their Epstein connections.
“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,” Wolff noted.
“I look forward to asking Melania and Donald Trump about the matters at issue in this case including their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.”
He accuses the Trumps of using legal threats to “intimidate their critics,” “extract unjustified payments,” and force “North Korean style confessions and apologies.”
This isn’t the first time Melania’s name has popped up in Epstein-related drama.
Just a couple of months ago, her team threatened Hunter Biden with a similar $1 billion lawsuit after he repeated claims that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump back in the late ’90s.
In an interview, Biden said, “First of all is that, what I said was what I have heard and seen reported and written, primarily from Michael Wolff but also dating back all the way to 2019 when The New York Times – I think Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman – reported that sources said that Jeffrey Epstein claimed to be the person to introduce Donald Trump to Melania at that time.”
Melania’s lawyer fired off a letter calling Biden’s comments “extremely salacious,” but Biden didn’t budge.
Digging into the background, the Trumps and Epstein go way back. Donald Trump and Epstein were buddies for nearly 15 years in the glitzy Palm Beach and Manhattan scene, rubbing shoulders with models and moguls.
A famous 2000 photo shows the four of them—Donald, Melania, Epstein, and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell—hanging out at Mar-a-Lago.
Their friendship soured around 2004, but Epstein once boasted in a 2002 interview that Trump was a “terrific guy” who’d said, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years… It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
More recently, tapes Wolff claims to have from interviews with Epstein paint a picture of Trump liking to “f—” his friends’ wives and detail that first encounter with Melania on the jet.
‘Silence Tactics’ Are Questioned Despite Bipartisan Calls for Transparency
Reports from the Associated Press highlight how Wolff’s suit pulls no punches, alleging the Trumps “have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them” to create “a climate of fear” and squash First Amendment rights.
The filing even suggests probing into “Mr. Trump’s and Epstein’s 10 years of pursuing models, including supermodels, runway models, catalog models, Eastern European models, and girls who just dreamed of being models.”
Melania’s spokesperson, Nicholas Clemens, pushed back hard, stating, “First Lady Melania Trump 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.”
Over at The Independent, they reported on Wolff’s complaint blasting the Trumps and their “MAGA myrmidons” for using these tactics to silence critics and block inquiries into Epstein.
The filing reads: “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.”
It’s worth noting this all ties into Wolff’s upcoming book, which promises more dirt on the Epstein-Trump saga.
President Trump has dismissed Wolff in the past as a “Third Rate Reporter,” saying his books are “discredited” and full of “JUNK.”
But with this lawsuit, Wolff is turning the tables, potentially forcing the First Family into depositions that could unearth more about their Epstein links.
As the 2025 political landscape heats up, this case could ripple far beyond the courtroom, raising big questions about free speech, power, and those lingering Epstein shadows.
The White House has been mum so far but expect more fireworks as this unfolds.
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
