A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected an unusual legal filing connected to a potential defamation battle between First Lady Melania Trump and author Michael Wolff. The decision does not settle the underlying disagreement, but it sends the parties back toward the conventional legal process.
In a 45-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil declined to exercise jurisdiction over Wolff’s case. Although she acknowledged that the parties had a genuine dispute, she criticized the way the litigation had been presented, describing it as involving an “inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship.”
The dispute began after Wolff made statements connecting Melania Trump to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Last year, the First Lady’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, sent Wolff a demand letter requesting that he remove the statements and warning that a defamation lawsuit could follow.
Wolff responded by filing a case in New York state court in October. He sought to prevent a possible billion-dollar defamation action, arguing that certain remarks were protected opinion or had been taken out of context. He also accused the Trump family of using legal threats to discourage criticism. The case was subsequently transferred to federal court.
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