In a dramatic legal counterstrike that could force an uncomfortable spotlight onto one of the most controversial intersections of power, politics, and scandal in recent memory, author Michael Wolff has sued Melania Trump in New York state court — and he’s not pulling any punches.
Wolff, whose insider exposés like Fire and Fury have long enraged the Trump orbit, isn’t just responding to a $1 billion defamation threat from the First Lady’s legal team. He’s actively challenging it, and in doing so, he's cracked open the door to depositions that could draw Donald and Melania Trump into sworn testimony about their connections to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
“To be perfectly honest, I’d like nothing better than to get Donald Trump and Melania Trump under oath in front of a court reporter,” Wolff said plainly. It's a provocative line — but one backed by legal teeth. In his 15-page filing on Wednesday, Wolff’s attorneys describe the First Lady’s cease-and-desist as a textbook case of a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation): a legal threat, they argue, designed to intimidate and suppress speech.
And what speech, exactly? According to the original complaint, Wolff made inflammatory claims — aired in both a podcast and an article — about Melania Trump’s alleged role in White House efforts to minimize or obscure Donald Trump’s relationship with Epstein.
These include references to a supposed “sham” marriage, unverified claims from Epstein about Trump’s sexual behavior, and the assertion that the couple met — and allegedly first became intimate — at an Epstein-hosted party aboard the infamous “Lolita Express” jet.
Melania Trump’s legal team, in their October 15 letter, described the remarks as “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory,” and claimed they caused the First Lady “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.” They demanded a public apology — and payment — under threat of a billion-dollar lawsuit.
But rather than retreat, Wolff took the offensive. His lawsuit doesn’t just defend his speech — it weaponizes it. By filing for declaratory judgment, he now seeks to legally validate his right to speak on the matter and potentially secure damages from Melania Trump for what he calls a malicious attempt to stifle journalism.
“Mrs. Trump and her ‘unitary executive’ husband,” the lawsuit reads, “along with their MAGA myrmidons, have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them.” The filing alleges a deliberate pattern of intimidation by the Trumps to suppress discussion of their ties to Epstein — a connection that has lingered in the shadows of public discourse for years.
At the heart of Wolff’s legal gambit is a simple yet explosive proposition: that by initiating this legal challenge, the Trumps may have inadvertently handed Wolff subpoena power — one he intends to wield to its fullest. Depositions, document requests, and potentially a courtroom showdown could follow, dragging into daylight details that the First Couple has long tried to keep behind closed doors.