First Lady Melania Trump is seeking financial sanctions against author Michael Wolff following her defamation suit win. It comes two months after a federal judge dismissed Wolff’s lawsuit against her as improper forum-shopping.
Melania Trump requests Michael Wolff legal fees after defamation victory, claims report
Court documents filed Monday in the Southern District of New York reportedly show Melania’s legal team is now requesting that Wolff and his attorney pay her reasonable legal fees and litigation costs, along with additional monetary penalties.
The new motion invokes Rule 11, which prohibits lawyers from filing frivolous or unsupported claims, and a federal statute that allows judges to penalize attorneys who unreasonably multiply proceedings. Melania’s attorneys argue the entire case was never about resolving a genuine legal dispute but instead functioned as a publicity vehicle.
According to the filing, obtained by RadarOnline.com, Michael Wolff ignored a pre-suit demand letter sent in October 2025. That letter requested he retract statements linking Melania Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and apologize or face legal action.
Rather than respond, Wolff allegedly raced to file his own lawsuit in New York state court less than a week later, an effort the first lady’s team describes as an attempt to control where any litigation would unfold.
In May, Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed Wolff’s lawsuit, which had sought declarations that his public statements about Melania Trump were not defamatory and that any future defamation claim would violate New York’s anti-SLAPP law.
The judge characterised Wolff’s approach as “textbook bad-faith forum-shopping” and an “abuse of the Declaratory Judgment Act,” finding he improperly tried to secure a favourable ruling before Melania had even filed her anticipated defamation lawsuit.
Now, the money sanctions request also highlights that Wolff promoted the lawsuit across his media platforms while raising more than $836,000 through an online fundraising campaign tied to the litigation.
Melania’s attorneys further contend that Wolff and his lawyer made unsupported factual allegations about the First Lady’s marriage, family, and personal life while attempting to argue she remained a New York resident.
The court will now consider whether financial sanctions are warranted.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory.
