I know we are all tired of Donald Trump but…
Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, is seeking $150 million (£121.2 million) in damages in a defamation case against Mail Online, claiming the publication has undermined a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to “launch a broad-based commercial brand.”
Trump filed a suit against the Mail last September but refiled the case in New York on Monday.
The First Lady’s suit says she is seeking damages for a false report on the website last August that she worked as an “elite escort” during her time as a model in New York in the 1990s.
Her lawyers argue that the report, which was later retracted, has meant that Melania Trump’s “brand has lost significant value, and major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her have been lost and/or significantly impacted.”
The case says Melania 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, each of which could have garnered multi-million dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which Plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world.”
It adds that “these product categories would have included, among other things, apparel, accessories, shoes, jewellery, cosmetics, hair care, skin care, and fragrance.”
Her lawyers conclude that the Mail’s report, which spread across social media and blogs, “caused tremendous harm to [Melania Trump’s] personal and professional reputation, for which she seeks compensatory and punitive damages of $150 million.”
The Washington Post has this.
Richard Painter, a White House ethics counsel under President George W. Bush and a critic of President Trump’s decision to retain ownership of his real estate and branding empire while in office, said Monday that he was troubled by the suggestion in the new suit that Melania Trump intended to profit from her public role.
“There has never been a first lady of the United States who insinuated that she intended to make a lot of money because of the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity of being first lady,” said Painter, who is participating in a lawsuit claiming that President Trump’s relationship with his company violates a constitutional provision barring presidents from taking money or gifts from foreign governments.
I guess the political strategy makes sense, Melania Trump defends herself against the mainstream media but at the same time, it seems to be a strategy that hurts her credibility as well. In defending her against one false claim, they open her up to a claim that her team started that she is looking to enrich herself from the Presidency. By doing that, even if she wins, her reputation suffers but maybe if you have $150 million in the bank, you no longer care.
In the end, I wonder if this is just her lawyer overreaching in his statements.
