First Lady Melania Trump has settled a defamation lawsuit against a US blogger for a “substantial sum”, it was reported today.
Blogger Webster Tarpley agreed to publish an apology, in which he said he had published an article that was “replete with false and defamatory statements about her.”
According to court documents filed in October, the article reported false rumours that Donald Trump ’s wife had withdrawn from her husband’s presidential campaign in part because she “feared possible revelations that she previously worked as a high-end escort.”
Court papers also say the article falsely claimed Mrs Trump took a back seat because she “suffered a “breakdown”” following the accusation that she plagiarised portions of her speech at the GOP convention.”
Mrs Trump is still suing the online Daily Mail, which published a similar article in August.
While the original lawsuit was dismissed from a Maryland court, it was refiled in the New York Supreme Court on Monday and is ongoing.
The defamation suit filed on Monday seeks “redress for the commercial harm done” by the newspaper, and her brand of skin care products, jewellery and fashion accessories had “lost significant value.”
It goes on to say Mrs Trump “had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson, and successful businesswoman to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories.”
It also claims the story had “impugned on her fitness to perform her duties as first lady of the United States.”