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Former First Lady Melania Trump is being accused of covering up "her family's nefarious activities" by a former senior adviser and friend.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who worked for Melania during the first year of the Trump White House and has since become an outspoken critic of the Trumps, responded to a social media post from political commentator Geraldo Rivera on Monday, slamming him for making "excuses" for the former first lady, who she said, "knowingly LIES and covers up her family's nefarious activities."
"There is NO whitewash for Melania," Winston Wolkoff wrote. "She remained SILENT as I was falsely defamed, sued, & criminally investigated (she knowingly & admitting on recording that I served truthfully & honorably) but said NOTHING to the people of AMERICA who deserve the TRUTH!!!"
Winston Wolkoff's relationship with Melania Trump deteriorated following the controversy surrounding money spent on former President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration. In 2020, she published a book titled Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady that detailed their 15-year friendship and her departure from the White House.
Newsweek reached out to Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung via email and Winston Wolkoff via Twitter DM for comment.
The Justice Department under the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Winston Wolkoff shortly after the book was published, accusing the former aide of breaking an official nondisclosure agreement by not sending a draft of her book to the White House for review and not obtaining permission to write it. The Biden administration dropped the lawsuit in February 2021.
Winston Wolkoff has accused the Trump Organization of being "directly involved" in the $107 million spent by the former president's inauguration committee and alleged that the company used the funds to pay off business-related debts.
In February 2018, it was reported that a company founded by Winston Wolkoff received $26 million for its role in Donald Trump's inauguration and that she personally received $1.6 million. She left the White House shortly after but disputed those claims and reports that she was fired.
Melania Trump has remained largely out of public view since her husband left office in January 2021, absent even amid his various legal troubles and his 2024 presidential campaign. Responding to a story about the former first lady's private life, Winston Wolkoff said it was ironic that Melania was maintaining a low profile because she is "the QUEEN of BETRAYAL, DECEIT, LIES & GRIFT."
Winston Wolkoff has also been outspoken about the Trump Organization's alleged tax fraud. Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and his company are currently undergoing a $250 million civil trial in New York on the accusations that they inflated their net worth on financial statements to secure better loans and other financial benefits. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
"BETRAYAL is the norm in Trump World - even to FAMILY," she said last month in response to a profile in The Nation about Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg. "As soon as you raise the alarm about their nefarious activities they make sure to cast you in an unflattering light & GAG you from speaking the truth with false accusations, non-disclosure agreements, & subpoenas."
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About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more