Melania Trump and her ex-assistant Stephanie Winston Wolkoff had a falling out, with the latter writing a tell-all book about the FLOTUS. Now the Justice Department is going after Wolkoff because she allegedly breached a confidentiality agreement.
Melania Trump and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff used to be friends, but a controversy ended their friendship. The First Lady also fired her from the White House in 2018. This year, Wolkoff released a tell-all book about the FLOTUS, but the Justice Department claims she broke a non-disclosure by doing so.
Melania Trump took her revenge on Stephanie?
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff released a book entitled Melania and Me, which documented her friendship and falling-out with the FLOTUS. In her book, Wolkoff made several statements about the First Lady, including Melania’s alleged rivalry with Ivanka Trump.
Wolkoff also claimed that Melania targeted Michelle Obama and even asked if the ex-FLOTUS visited the border. She also allegedly refused to move into the White House until the shower and toilet used by the Obamas in the presidential residence were replaced, Deadline reported.
The Justice Department was not impressed and they are now coming after her for allegedly breaking her NDA. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Wolkoff in the Washington, DC, District Court on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Stephanie fired back
Stephanie accused Donald and Melania Trump of using the Justice Department to silence her. She also alleged that the lawsuit is a violation of her rights and insisted that she only exercised her freedom of expression when she wrote the book.
“The President and First Lady’s use of the US Department of Justice to silence me is a violation of my First Amendment Rights and a blatant abuse of the government to pursue their own personal interests and goals,” Wolkoff told CNN.
“I fulfilled all of the terms of the Gratuitous Service Agreement and the confidentiality provisions ended when the White House terminated the agreement. With the publication of my book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with The First Lady, I have exercised my right to free expression.”
Melania and Stephanie’s friendship and falling-out
Melania Trump and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff were good friends. Per Business Insider, their 15-year friendship was based around regular lunch dates at luxurious eateries in New York City. They were even photographed attending a Bottega Veneta fashion show luncheon in the Big Apple in May 2006.
Wolkoff was a former special events planner for Vogue. Melania reportedly asked for help to plan Donald Trump’s inauguration after he won the 2016 presidential election. Wolkoff, an expert at organizing events, did not disappoint the First Lady.
Wolkoff worked on a “contract basis” for special projects for the office of the First Lady without any pay, the FLOTUS’ spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told The New York Times. But the nonprofit presidential inauguration committee paid her firm $26 million for event planning.
According to Wolkoff, the payment maid to WIS Media Partners was spent on parties, shipping, flowers, gilded table settings, social media filters, satellites for broadcasting and more. Meanwhile, the remaining $1.62 million was divided among the staff of 15 members including her.
After the inauguration, she became part of Melania’s East Wing team but was fired a year later due to the controversy surrounding the money she received from Trump’s inauguration.
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