The Department of Justice sends a letter to Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and Simon & Schuster in an attempt to block the release of a book about Melania Trump.
On July 15th, the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division at the Department of Justice, Ethan P. Davis, joined the ultimately failed efforts to prevent the book—or their perceived version of such a book—from ever hitting shelves, also citing the gratuitous services agreement in a letter to Wolkoff’s attorney.
The Daily Beast
The letter, along with a letter sent previously by Trump’s lawyers, claims that Wolkoff’s book is a breach of a confidentiality clause in a Gratuitous Services Agreement she signed with Melania. However, that agreement was terminated two years ago.
This is the earliest case (we know of) of the Department of Justice serving Donald Trump’s personal needs unrelated to the United States government. The DOJ is paid for by taxpayers.
Weeks later, the DOJ takes over a defamation lawsuit against Trump.
Wolkoff’s book, Melania & Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, is released September 1.
Trump and his administration have made other high-profile, concerted efforts to block books deemed negative to the president, his White House, or his family. Recent examples include unflattering portrayals released by Mary Trump, the president’s own niece; John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser and a well-known foreign-policy hawk; and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former longtime “fixer” and lawyer.
However, these threats have typically fallen flat or backfired, with the president’s legal saber-rattling often generating more publicity and sales for these books, and the threats themselves predictably failing to halt publication or exact any substantive retribution in the courts.
The Daily Beast
The lawsuit is dropped on February 8, 2021, by the new administration.
The dismissal of the DOJ’s case against me is vindication against forces from the former President, and Melania on down, who attempted to wield their power to silence me by intimidating me from speaking the truth. This is a sign that justice is being restored in our great nation.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff
Source
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-justice-department-threatened-melanias-former-senior-adviser-stephanie-winton-wolkoff-documents-show/?via=twitter_page
https://twitter.com/MikeScarcella/status/1358906982665773059?s=20
https://twitter.com/SWWCreative/status/1358953223290249216
Photo: Public Domain
