Government sues Melania Trump’s former best friend over ‘scathing tell-all’
The Department of Justice has requested that all profits be directed to a ‘constructive trust'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff over her recently published tell-all book discussing First Lady Melania Trump, to whom she previously served as an assistant.
The suit was filed in District Court in Washington, D.C, alleging Wolkoff – a former best friend of Melania Trump – breached a nondisclosure agreement and did not provide a draft copy of the book to the government for review.
The government claims that Wolkoff “promised to maintain strict confidentiality over ‘nonpublic, privileged and/or confidential information’” when she volunteered to serve as an adviser to the First Lady in 2017. That nondisclosure agreement is said to have had no termination date.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}By failing to submit a draft of her book for review, lawyers from the Department of Justice claim she failed to obtain required authorization to divulge details included in the book, which they note has been referred to as a “scathing tell-all.”
The government is asking that profits from the book and any related media – like a movie – be directed to a “constructive trust.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said in a statement that this was “a contract with the United States and therefore enforceable by the United States.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BILLY RAY CYRUS SENDS WELL WISHES TO MELANIA TRUMP, THANKS HER FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION WORK
The book, “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady,” is a #1 bestseller on Amazon and a New York Times #1 bestseller.
The book includes critical claims about Melania Trump, including allegations she renovated the White House bathroom in order to avoid using the same facilities as former First Lady Michelle Obama. It details purported tensions with Ivanka Trump.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The book also references internal conversations between the president and Melania Trump over policies, such as the elimination of a ban on the importation of big game trophies.
Wolkoff left the White House in 2018.