Melania Trump has filed for sanctions against Michael Wolff after a federal judge dismissed his preemptive lawsuit as frivolous, accusing him of running a publicity and fundraising campaign rather than pursuing legitimate legal claims.
First Lady Melania Trump moved for sanctions against journalist Michael Wolff on Tuesday, asking a federal court to force him to pay her legal costs after his preemptive suit was tossed. The filing, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Wolff and his lawyers of abusing the judicial process and manufacturing a jurisdictional dispute to draw attention.
The motion calls out what Melania’s lawyers describe as “a fundraising drive and a political spectacle” instead of a real lawsuit. Her team wants costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and other relief tied to defending against the thrown-out filing.
Wolff had filed his suit to try to preempt a threatened $1 billion defamation case Melania signaled over his claims tying her to Jeffrey Epstein. The strategy was essentially to seek a ruling in advance that he would win if she sued, a theory the court rejected as improper.
Manhattan federal Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed Wolff’s suit in May with sharp language, calling his legal theory “contorted almost beyond recognition” and rejecting the effort to short-circuit normal litigation. The judge also criticized what she saw as tactical gamesmanship and forum shopping designed to keep the matter out of places Wolff didn’t prefer.
“Plaintiff asks for a declaration that, if the First Lady sues him, he deserves to win. That is not how the federal courts work.”
Melania’s lawyers now insist Wolff’s entire case was meritless from the start and meant to harass her publicly. The sanctions filing accuses him of using a baseless claim to generate attention and money rather than pursue legitimate legal remedies.
Financial details are central to the motion. Wolff raised more than $836,000 through crowdfunding while promising to use his lawsuit to try to depose both President Trump and the first lady about Epstein, a fact Melania’s team highlights as proof the suit was commercial and political theater, not a search for truth.
“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 motion also references a reported trove of communications tying Wolff to Epstein; authorities noted more than 1,000 messages between Wolff and the late convicted sex offender, and Wolff reportedly called Epstein his “good friend.” Those connections make the public accusations against Melania especially charged.
When Melania demanded a retraction of Wolff’s claims, she says he ignored the request and instead filed the preemptive lawsuit that Judge Vyskocil later tossed. Her legal team argues the silence followed by litigation further shows the effort was about spectacle rather than correction.
Melania has publicly denied any ties to Epstein and has been outspoken in pushing back on defamatory coverage. Her earlier statement was blunt and uncompromising:
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”
The sanctions filing is a separate legal track from the ongoing $1 billion damages threat she still says she will pursue against Wolff for allegedly defamatory statements. The sanctions request seeks to recover fees tied specifically to defending against the dismissed preemptive suit.
At this stage Wolff and his lawyers have not publicly answered the sanctions motion, and the court has yet to rule on whether sanctions are appropriate. The filings that are public so far leave open some questions about the exact jurisdictional arguments he tried to manufacture.
This fight sits inside a broader pattern of media scrutiny and speculation around the Trump family, but the Wolff matter is framed by the first lady’s team as a concrete legal dispute with measurable damages and costs. The courts will now decide whether the man who made the accusations must also cover the price of the response.
