EXCLUSIVE: Ousted DHS counterterrorism chief sues millionaire ex over alleged sugar daddy smear campaign

FIRST ON FOX: A former high-ranking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official who was publicly sidelined in a "sugar daddy" media firestorm is fighting back with a major defamation lawsuit, accusing her wealthy ex-boyfriend of weaponizing her gender to destroy her counterterrorism career after she rejected a marriage ultimatum.Julia Varvaro, the 29-year-old former DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism, filed a federal complaint Monday in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging defamation per se and defamation by implication against Robert "Bob" Bianchi, multimillionaire CEO of federal contractor SDVO Solutions.The lawsuit accuses Bianchi, 57, of fabricating a DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) complaint that falsely claimed Varvaro’s college education was funded by "sugar daddies" and her jewelry consisted of "trophies."He then leaked the confidential complaint, private photos and text messages to The Daily Mail to ignite a tabloid scandal, according to the suit.Over the course of multiple weeks, the lawsuit alleges Varvaro took time off work and traveled to meet each of Bianchi's three children in San Diego, California, Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina.(Obtained by Fox News Digital)NAVY VETERAN WHO BEAT CNN IN COURT SAYS CIA WANTS HIM TO DELETE, BURN BOOK MANUSCRIPT: ‘THAT'S CENSORSHIP’The lawsuit specifically targets "defamation by implication," accusing Bianchi of strategically manipulating intimate text messages to frame their age-gap relationship as a transactional "sugar baby" arrangement.Attorneys argue a leaked text message exchange where Bianchi teased, "Don’t f— with Daddy on fashion," and Varvaro replied, "Daddy knows all," was lighthearted banter about their age difference — not evidence of sex work.The lawsuit also addresses Apple Cash transfers that Bianchi framed as "consideration for sex," noting the payments were standard financial flows of a committed relationship.In one private text exchange, w...