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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Edward Helmore and agency

Judge dismisses lawsuit brought by author Michael Wolff against Melania Trump

A middle-aged woman talks into a microphone with a US flag in the background.
Melania Trump delivers remarks at the White House on 9 April 2026. Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/EPA

Melania Trump has won the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by author Michael Wolff designed to head off a billion-dollar defamation action brought by the first lady over statements he made in the media.

The US district judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said that Wolff’s claim against Trump under anti-Slapp statutes, which are designed to allow defendants to quickly dismiss meritless, intimidating lawsuits, was “preemptive” and presented in a “somewhat contorted posture”.

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