A federal judge on Friday dismissed journalist Michael Wolff’s lawsuit seeking to block a threatened $1 billion defamation case by first lady Melania Trump, calling the effort “contorted” and “not how the federal courts work,” according to the judge’s written order.
Manhattan Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, rejected Wolff’s request after his state suit was transferred to federal court by Melania Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, the order said. Wolff had filed the state complaint in October after receiving a letter from Brito that called on him to retract statements and warned she would sue if he did not.
Vyskocil said both sides had engaged in an “inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship” and that, while there was a “real dispute,” she would not be “conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat.” She said federal court has jurisdiction but declined to exercise it and “dismisses this case to be litigated like any other,” the order said.
A Melania Trump spokesperson said Friday that the first lady “is 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,” the spokesperson said. The first lady has denied any association with Jeffrey Epstein and said in an April news conference, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” according to her remarks.
Wolff’s lawsuit said the president and first lady “have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them” with costly legal actions and said some of his statements were taken out of context or were protected opinion. The suit said Wolff never accused the first lady of criminal activity related to Epstein. The Daily Beast retracted an article last summer based on an interview with Wolff after receiving a letter from Brito. Wolff is the author of several books about President Trump, including “Fire and Fury” and “Siege.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
