First lady Melania Trump's legal battle against one of her husband's biographers intensified this week after her lawyers moved to sanction the author for filing what they described as a "meritless" lawsuit against Trump.
Trump's lawyers moved to sanction Michael Wolff, who has written four books about President Donald Trump, after a judge tossed his lawsuit seeking to prevent Melania Trump from suing him for $1 billion over comments he made about her past relationship with disgraced financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Wolff had previously claimed that Melania Trump was "very involved" in Epstein's actions during an interview with The Daily Beast, and the article has since been retracted, Fox News reported.
Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, described Wolff's attempt to silence the first lady as "contorted" in a new court filing.
"Plaintiff and his counsel asserted a legally frivolous claim, propped it up with factual contentions that lacked any evidentiary support, and used them to run a political and commercial campaign. They should pay for Mrs. Trump’s fees and expenses incurred for the process they abused," the filing reads in part.
Melania Trump's lawsuit is part of a series of defamation lawsuits the Trumps have filed during the second term. For instance, Trump has sued the BBC for $10 billion, alleging they deceptively edited footage of the Jan. 6 riot. He has also sued network television stations for allegedly editing his debates against former President Joe Biden.