Melania Trump in Maryland Courtroom for $150M Lawsuit

ROCKVILLE, MD — A routine hearing in Montgomery County court drew First Lady-elect Melania Trump, who has filed a $150 million defamation lawsuit against a Montgomery County blogger and a British newspaper.

The brief hearing focused on scheduling matters for the lawsuit, which was filed in September by Trump. Her lawyer estimated damages at $150 million for the stories, which portrayed the former model as having once worked as a high-end escort, says USA Today. Before marrying President-elect and businessman Donald Trump, Melania Knauss worked in Europe and then the United States as a model.

Her attorney, Charles Harder, said in a statement when the lawsuits were filed: “These defendants made several statements about Mrs. Trump that are 100 percent false and tremendously damaging to her personal and professional reputation [and] broadcast their lies to millions of people throughout the US and the world – without any justification.”

Trump sued Clarksburg blogger Webster Tarpley along with the Daily Mail for defamation, The Washington Post says. Both publications later retracted their stories.

Tarpley has said that he did not libel Melania Trump and was only passing on “unfounded rumors and innuendo” that had appeared online.

“Melania Trump’s lawsuit against me is without merit,” Tarpley says on his website. “Mrs. Trump is a public figure actively engaged in the Trump for president campaign. We are confident that Mrs. Trump will not be able to meet her high burden of proving the statements published about her on my website were defamatory in any way. Her lawsuit is a blatant attempt to intimidate not only me, but journalists of all stripes into remaining silent with regard to public figures. This lawsuit is a direct affront to First Amendment principles and free speech in our democratic society.”

Harder, a Beverly Hills, California-based lawyer, triumphed in court in August in a massive lawsuit on behalf of wrestling star Hulk Hogan. The win sent Gawker Media into bankruptcy; the lawsuit was finance by billionaire Peter Thiel, a Trump supporter and foe of Gawker since it outed him as gay, Forbes says.

Deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office were on hand for security at the courthouse during Trump’s appearance, along with Secret Service agents. Trump came and went without using a public entrance, which is not uncommon for high-profile plaintiffs or defendants, reports the Post.

First ladies typically take up a social cause to champion while they are in the White House; current First Lady Michelle Obama has advocated for better eating habits to combat childhood obesity. Melania Trump has said that her focus once her husband, a regular Twitter user, is in office will be to fight bullying on social media and to advocate for women.

In a speech last month, she called for an end to online bullying of children and teenagers, saying, "Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough especially to children and to teenagers. We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other."

»Patch file photo of Melania and Donald Trump