Wolff sues Melania Trump over anti-SLAPP threat tied to Epstein links

Journalist and author Michael Wolff filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan state Supreme Court against First Lady Melania Trump, saying she threatened him with a more than $1 billion libel suit to force a retraction over statements he made linking her to Jeffrey Epstein. Wolff asked the court to bar what he called retaliatory legal threats, recover legal fees and damages, and to permit depositions of both the first lady and President Donald Trump about their relationships with Epstein.

In the complaint, Wolff says he received a letter from Melania Trump's lawyer setting a deadline to retract certain statements, apologize and pay damages, or face suit for more than $1 billion. Wolff contends the letter was intended to intimidate him and to chill future reporting and inquiry into the Trumps' connections with Epstein. He invoked New York's anti-SLAPP protections, arguing the threats were an attempt to shut down protected speech and investigative work rather than to remedy demonstrable falsehoods.

Wolff's suit says the disputed remarks were made in a podcast episode he cohosts, in three short social media videos and in comments to other outlets. He acknowledges some remarks were...