First lady Melania Trump filed a motion for sanctions on Tuesday against journalist Michael Wolff. Wolff unsuccessfully sued Melania Trump to keep her from suing him for $1 billion for alleged defamatory statements he made about her involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.Earlier this year, a federal judge tossed Wolff’s lawsuit against the first lady, calling it a "contorted" effort and "not how the federal courts work." Melania Trump is now seeking costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in these proceedings, along with other appropriate relief, saying Wolff’s lawsuit was "a fundraising drive and a political spectacle."First lady Melania Trump filed a motion for sanctions on Tuesday against journalist Michael Wolff. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson; Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, feels sanctions are warranted for at least three independent reasons.
Brito accused Wolff of manufacturing a jurisdictional dispute in an attempt to keep the case in New York state court, using litigation for improper purposes and making a "frivolous" claim. "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 first lady’s legal team claims. The first lady’s legal team said Wolff wrongly claimed she was heavily involved in the Epstein scandal.Her team sent a pre-action notice under Florida’s anti-defamation law identifying defamatory statements and demanding a retraction and apology.
According to the court filing, Wolff never answered the demand letter, instead filing the unsuccessful lawsuit against Melania Trump. JUDGE TOSSES MICHAEL WOLFF'S LAWSUIT AGAINST MELANIA TRUMP, CALLS IT 'CONTORTED' AND NOT HOW 'COURTS WORK'First lady Melania Trump has denied an...