Author and journalist Michael Wolff, known for his hard-hitting books about the Trump family, has launched a legal counteroffensive against First Lady Melania Trump after she threatened him with a $1 billion defamation lawsuit. The dispute, which exploded into public view on October 21, 2025, centers on Wolff’s forthcoming tell-all book and a series of incendiary remarks linking Melania Trump—and by extension, former President Donald Trump—to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to Deadline, Wolff’s lawsuit was filed in New York state court late on October 21, a direct response to an October 15 letter from Melania Trump’s lawyers. That letter accused Wolff of making “false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements” about the First Lady in both a podcast and a Daily Beast article. The threatened $1 billion lawsuit, Wolff claims, is not just about reputation—it’s about silencing him and stifling public inquiry into the Trumps’ connections to Epstein.
“Mrs. Trump and her ‘unitary executive’ husband along with their MAGA myrmidons have made a practice of threatening those who speak against them with costly SLAPP actions in order to silence their speech, to intimidate their critics generally, and to extract unjustified payments and North Korean-style confessions and apologies,” Wolff’s legal filing asserts, as reported by Mediaite. SLAPP, short for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, refers to lawsuits that are intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense.
Wolff is no stranger to controversy with the Trumps. His 2018 book Fire and Fury set off a firestorm in Washington, leading to White House demands that the book be pulled from publication. The latest legal skirmish, however, takes their feud to new and more personal territory. Wolff is currently working on a book tentatively titled The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump (Redux), and his recent remarks suggest the book will delve deeply into Melania Trump’s alleged involvement in efforts to minimize and obscure the Trumps’ relationship with Epstein.
Among the most explosive claims in Wolff’s court filing are allegations that Melania Trump played an “extensive role” in White House efforts to manage the fallout from Donald Trump’s ties to Epstein. He further claims that Melania Trump was a model with ID Models, an agency run by a friend of both Trump and Epstein, and that she met Donald Trump at a New York party hosted by the agency. According to Wolff, the couple’s first sexual encounter allegedly took place on Epstein’s infamous private jet, the “Lolita Express.”
Wolff’s complaint, as detailed by Axios, outlines 11 specific statements that Melania Trump’s team claims are defamatory—including assertions that she was “very involved” in Epstein’s circle and that her marriage to Donald Trump is a “sham.” Wolff insists that these statements were either taken out of context, not authored by him, or are protected opinions supported by factual reporting. “It is not defamatory to say that Mrs. Trump is actively managing the present White House response to the controversy,” the filing states. “Nor is it defamatory to say that Mrs. Trump was involved in Epstein’s rather expansive social circle.”
Wolff’s legal team is seeking a declaratory judgment that he has not defamed Melania Trump, as well as compensation under New York’s robust anti-SLAPP laws. He is also asking for attorney’s fees, compensatory, and punitive damages. The choice to file in New York, rather than Florida (where Melania Trump’s team initially cited law), is strategic—New York’s anti-SLAPP statutes offer stronger protections for journalists and authors facing lawsuits intended to chill free speech.
At the heart of Wolff’s argument is the assertion that the Trumps have long sought to suppress legitimate inquiry into their relationship with Epstein. “What Mr. and Mrs. Trump are trying to promote is the false statement that they had almost nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” his lawyers wrote. “That is why they are struggling to get Congress not to require disclosure of the Epstein files and it is why the Trump’s minions are threatening speakers and journalists such as Mr. Wolff with SLAPP suits to silence their criticism and to suppress and impede their ongoing inquiries.”
Wolff has been quoted as saying, “First Lady Melania could be the missing link in President Trump’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.” He further argues that it is “proper to inquire and find out what happened” during Trump’s and Epstein’s “10 years of pursuing models, including super models, runway models, catalog models, Eastern European models, and girls who just dreamed of being models.” Wolff has made clear that this will be “one of the zones of inquiry that this lawsuit will have to undertake.”
In a video posted to Instagram, Wolff was blunt about his intentions: “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 and actually find out all of the details of their relationship with Epstein.” His lawsuit, he claims, is not just about defending himself, but about defending press freedom in an environment where, as his attorney David Korzenik told Axios, “there’s been an attack and an attempt to discredit the press and journalists generally that have led to the changed atmosphere.”
Melania Trump’s response has been swift and unequivocal. “First Lady Melania Trump is proud to continue standing up to those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct,” her spokesperson said in a statement to Axios. The First Lady’s team has demanded a retraction and apology, insisting that Wolff’s remarks have caused her “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.”
This legal battle comes in a week already fraught with Epstein-related revelations. The release of former Mar-A-Lago employee Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting For Justice, has reignited public interest in the Epstein scandal and its connections to powerful figures. Meanwhile, calls continue for the release of the so-called “Epstein files,” which are rumored to contain client lists linking elites to Epstein. Former President Trump has dismissed these files as a “Democrat hoax,” according to PBS, while lawmakers on Capitol Hill have struggled to obtain more information.
As Wolff’s lawsuit moves forward, it promises not only to test the limits of free speech and press protections but also to keep the spotlight firmly fixed on questions the Trumps would rather see fade away. With both sides digging in—and the public’s appetite for answers undiminished—the saga shows no sign of ending quietly.
