A federal judge in Manhattan threw out author Michael Wolff’s lawsuit against first lady Melania Trump, ending Wolff’s effort to head off a threatened $1 billion suit by asking the court to declare that he did not defame her.
Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed the case after determining that Wolff’s legal maneuver — framed as an attempt to prevent Trump from suing him — did not fit the way federal courts handle disputes. In court, she criticized what she described as an “inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship” and said she would not be “conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat.”
While Vyskocil said federal court had jurisdiction, she agreed that Wolff and the first lady “have a real dispute” and that they “must litigate it according to the same procedures as everyone else.” The judge said she would decline to exercise that jurisdiction and, in her 45-page decision, dismissed the case so it would be litigated like other cases.
The lawsuit began after Wolff received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, warning that the first lady would be “left with no alternative” but to sue if Wolff did not retract statements Brito said had caused her “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.” Wolff’s complaint sought a declaration that he did not defame Trump and requested that, if she brought claims, he be found liable for costs, fees and unspecified monetary damages.
Wolff brought his case in New York state court and framed it under a law intended to stop lawsuits that aim to silence critics, known as SLAPPs. The case later shifted to federal court in Manhattan after it was transferred by Brito, who then sought dismissal and asked that it be moved to federal court in Florida.
The dispute stems from statements Wolff made to outlets including The Daily Beast and in three social media videos, which his filing said concerned Melania Trump’s “involvement” in managing a matter “behind the scenes” at the White House rather than any involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. The lawsuit said Wolff never alleged that Trump was involved in Epstein’s offenses and characterized some of the contested language as protected opinion, including a description of “a sham marriage” and “trophy marriage.”
The case also pointed to Epstein’s history: Epstein, a millionaire financier and convicted sex offender, died in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In April, Melania Trump issued a denial of any affiliation with Epstein, reading prepared remarks at the White House in which she said, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
In those remarks, Trump said the individuals making statements about her were “devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect,” and she rejected what she called “mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for Melania Trump, said Friday that she was “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 April dispute also followed reporting that included a retraction: in July 2025, after Brito sent a letter, The Daily Beast retracted an article titled “Melania Trump ‘Very Involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author,” based on an interview with Wolff. Wolff told the court that his comments about “involvement” were aimed at events at the White House rather than criminal conduct.