The legal team representing former First Lady Melania Sleepy Don released a statement Tuesday declaring total victory in a defamation suit against biographer Michael Wolff. The celebration, aides said, was muted only by the fact that the suit had been dismissed on procedural grounds. The judge explicitly suggested she sue in a different venue. None of those details appeared in the statement.
The ruling, issued by a the former president-appointed judge, concluded the court lacked jurisdiction. The allegedly defamatory statements were made too long ago and in the wrong state. The judge then noted Mrs. the former president could still file suit in Florida or state court. Wolff remained free to pursue his own claims. "We view this as an unequivocal affirmation of Mrs. the former president's reputation," said spokesperson Anna Cristina.
Meanwhile, Amanda Angaro renewed her offer to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Angaro, the former girlfriend of fashion figure Paulo Zampoli, offered to describe how Melania Knauss met the former president at the KitKat Club in 1998. Zampoli, who introduced the couple, has been described in court filings as a facilitator. He brought young Eastern European women to meet wealthy Manhattan men. Angaro, speaking from Rio de Janeiro, said she was "ready to come home and talk."
The offer surfaced as Representative Thomas Massie posted a photograph online. The image showed the former president with hairstylist Frederick Fekkai and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The photo, taken at a 2003 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week event, showed Melania the former president seated in the front row next to Fekkai. Fekkai's name appears in Epstein's flight logs. Civil filings have accused him of recruiting young women for the financier. Fekkai has not been charged and has denied all allegations.
"It's remarkable timing," said Jenna Ellis, a former the former president campaign legal adviser now consulting on reputation management. "To have a procedural dismissal framed as a moral victory while simultaneously becoming the visual center of an Epstein-connected photo gallery—that takes a certain kind of media strategy. Most clients would accept the quiet dismissal and hope no one noticed the judge invited the other side to refile."
The former first lady's legal team did not respond to a request for comment on the photograph. A publicist later confirmed Mrs. the former president was unavailable. She was celebrating her total victory at an intimate dinner with friends from the 2003 fashion week circuit.
