"Breached Non-Disclosure Agreement" US DOJ Sues Melania's Closest Aide

'Memoir Melania and Me' Published by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff
Melania Allegedly Planned to Avoid Ivanka Being Captured on Camera at Inauguration
Also Became a New York Times Bestseller

▲U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (left) [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit against a close aide of First Lady Melania Trump for breaking a nondisclosure agreement by publishing a memoir.

According to Bloomberg News on the 13th (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice sued Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, the author of the book "Melania and Me," in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In the complaint, the Department of Justice stated, "The 'Unpaid Services Agreement' signed by Wolkoff and the First Lady in August 2017 includes provisions related to confidential information learned through work." It added, "Wolkoff did not submit the manuscript to the First Lady, the First Lady's Chief of Staff, or the White House Counsel's Office, nor was she authorized to disclose information learned through her work."

The Department of Justice also requested that any profits Wolkoff earns from the book and related films and documentaries be seized for the national treasury.

A DOJ spokesperson explained, "The agreement between Wolkoff and the First Lady is a contract with the government and can be enforced by the government."

Wolkoff, an event planner who once served as the general director of New York Fashion Week, is reported to have known the First Lady since 2003.

After Donald Trump was elected president, she served as an unpaid advisor to Melania Trump at the White House until February 2018 and was called the First Lady's "close friend."

Wolkoff was effectively ousted from the White House after reports surfaced that her company received $26 million (approximately 29.848 billion KRW) for assisting with President Trump's inauguration.

Wolkoff's book "Melania and Me," which includes revelations such as how Melania Trump and Wolkoff strategized to keep President Trump's eldest daughter Ivanka out of TV cameras while preparing for the inauguration, was published on the 1st of last month and even made the New York Times bestseller list.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.