Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil threw out author Michael Wolff’s preemptive suit against first lady Melania Trump on Friday, delivering a sharp judicial rebuke to what she described as an “abusively presented spat” and a misuse of the federal courts. Wolff had sought to head off a threatened $1 billion defamation claim by the first lady over his assertions connecting her to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, filing the action last October after her lawyer sent a warning letter.
“This is not how the federal courts work,” Vyskocil wrote of Wolff’s lawsuit, which she called “contorted.” The judge, appointed by President Donald Trump, said Wolff exhibited “an inappropriate level of tactical gamesmanship” by rushing to court before Melania Trump had even sued him. “I will not be conscripted to oversee an abusively presented spat,” Vyskocil added.
The dispute traces back to a letter that Alejandro Brito, an attorney for Melania Trump, sent to Wolff in 2025. In it, Brito said the first lady would be “left with no alternative” but to sue Wolff unless he retracted statements that the lawyer said had caused her “overwhelming reputational and financial harm.” The precise nature of Wolff’s statements about Melania Trump and Epstein has not been made public in the court proceedings, but the author’s book and subsequent interviews have drawn scrutiny over her past interactions with the financier.
Vyskocil acknowledged that Wolff and Melania Trump “have a real dispute” — whether the author’s assertions are defamatory — but said they must pursue it “according to the same procedures as everyone else.” The ruling does not address the merits of any potential defamation claim; it simply clears the way for the first lady to file her own lawsuit if she chooses. Wolff’s attorney, Nick Clemens, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.