The day after Donald Trump’s lawyers issued their demand for a retraction from the New York Times for its reporting on two alleged incidents of sexual misconduct (to which the Times responded forcefully) Melania Trump issued her very own demand for a retraction and apology from People magazine for Natasha Stoynoff’s account of being sexually assaulted by Trump. While Donald Trump labeled the Times’ piece “reckless, defamatory, and constitutes libel,” Melania’s lawyers took a much more low-key approach.
The letter from Melania’s lawyer, Charles Harder—who was instrumental in helping Peter Thiel take down Gawker earlier this year—disputes three inconsequential anecdotes in Stoynoff’s story that was positive in its portrayal of Trump’s wife. The letter, essentially, says: Take me out of it. It does not mention or dispute any of the details about her husband nor Stoynoff’s portrayal of the interview that she held with the pair at Mar-a-Lago in 2005. Instead, Melania disputes a throwaway portion of the story about a chance encounter with Stoynoff months later on the street in New York.
1. “That winter, I actually bumped into Melania on Fifth Avenue, in front of Trump Tower as she walked into the building, carrying baby Barron.”
2. “Natasha, why don’t we see you anymore?” she asked, giving me a hug.”
3. “I was quiet and smiled, telling her I’d missed her, and I squeezed little Barron’s foot.”
“The true facts are these: Mrs. Trump did not encounter Ms. Stoynoff on the street, nor have any conversation with her. The two are not friends and were never friends or even friendly,” the letter reads. “Your publication of the false statements is actionable and gives rise to claims of damages.”
