Melania Trump has been hit with a authorized criticism by journalist Michael Wolff, who accused the First Girl of threatening libel motion as a option to silence him.
In court docket paperwork obtained by TheWrap, Wolff claims Trump despatched a risk letter, which demanded the journalist apologize by Tuesday over “false, defamatory, disparaging, deceptive and inflammatory statements” he allegedly made concerning the First Girl and her connection to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal — or be sued for $1 billion in damages.
Within the authorized response, Wolff’s lawyer defended that the journalist was merely doing his job “diligently,” which included asking “essential questions that deserve inquiry.” Per the doc, Wolff was contemplating penning a e-book on Epstein.
Wolff’s authorized criticism famous: “Mrs. Trump and her ‘unitary government’ husband together with their MAGA myrmidons have made a follow of threatening those that converse in opposition to them with pricey SLAPP actions to be able to silence their speech, to intimidate their critics usually and to extract unjustified funds and North Korea type confession and apologies.”
The doc went on: “These threatened authorized actions are designed to create a local weather of concern within the nation so that folks can not freely or confidently train their First Modification rights. The threats are additionally supposed to close down reliable inquiry into the Epstein matter which the Trumps and their collaborators have at each flip sought to impede and suppress.”
Wolff is looking for his authorized charges lined in addition to compensatory and punitive damages, in keeping with the submitting.
“[Mrs. Trump’s claims] impede and chill future reporting and writing that Mr. Wolff has dedicated to doing relating to Epstein, Mr. Trump and Mrs. Trump,” the criticism added. “In lots of respects that’s the main goal of those claims.”
On the time of writing, the submitting had not been reviewed or authorized by the County Clerk.
Representatives for Trump didn’t instantly reply to TheWrap’s request for remark.
