Justice Department sues author of book on first lady Melania Trump, claiming nondisclosure agreement
Suit also alleges author had “indirect access" to President Trump’s official duties on behalf of the country
The Justice Department is suing the author of a book about Melania Trump, claiming she broke a nondisclosure agreement barring her from revealing confidential information obtained during her work as the volunteer adviser for the first lady.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., and asks that author Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who was also a friend of the first lady, surrender to a government trust any profits from her book, “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady,” published in September.
The suit accuses Winston Wolkoff of violating a breach of contract and breaching fiduciary obligations to the first lady, according to CNBC.
The complaint also states that Winston Wolkoff agreed in 2017 to a so-called gratuitous services agreement that included a confidentiality clause in which she “promised to maintain strict confidentiality over ‘nonpublic, privileged and/or confidential information’ that she might obtain during her service.”
The Justice Department also claims that Winston Wolkoff had “indirect access to deliberative information, to which the First Lady was privy, related to the President’s official duties on behalf of the country,” CNBC also reports.
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The Justice Department is suing the author of a book about Melania Trump, claiming she broke a nondisclosure agreement barring her from revealing confidential information obtained during her work for the volunteer adviser for the first lady.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., and asks that author Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who was also a friend of the first lady, to surrender to a government trust any profits from her book, “Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady,” published in September.
The suit accuses Winston Wolkoff of violating a breach of contract and breaching fiduciary obligations to the first lady, according to CNBC.
The complaint also states that Winston Wolkoff agreed in 2017 to a so-called gratuitous services agreement that included a confidentiality clause in which she “promised to maintain strict confidentiality over ‘nonpublic, privileged and/or confidential information’ that she might obtain during her service.”
The Justice Department also claims that Winston Wolkoff had “indirect access to deliberative information, to which the First Lady was privy, related to the President’s official duties on behalf of the country,” CNBC also reports.
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