Melania Trump hires lawyer who sued Gawker, threatens 10 media outlets with libel suits

Melania took legal action after The Daily Mail peddled unsubstantiated claims that she'd once worked as an escort

Published August 23, 2016 5:03PM (EDT)

FILE - In this June 7, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves at supporters as he leaves the stage with his wife Melania after a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.  Melania Trump's former modeling agent says the wife of the GOP presidential nominee obtained a work visa before she modelled professionally in the U.S. in the mid-1990s. ( Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
FILE - In this June 7, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves at supporters as he leaves the stage with his wife Melania after a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Melania Trump's former modeling agent says the wife of the GOP presidential nominee obtained a work visa before she modelled professionally in the U.S. in the mid-1990s. ( Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Melania Trump, the third wife of GOP presidential nominee Donald, over the weekend threatened British tabloid The Daily Mail with a libel suit after it suggested the Slovenian modeling agency she worked for in the '90s also operated as a pricey escort service.

The Week, Politico, Inquisitr, Tarpley, Before It's News, Liberal America, LawNewz, Winning Democrats and Bipartisan Report were also "put on notice," according to CNN Money.

Melania's lawyer, Charles Harder, recently headed Peter Thiel's shadowy legal battle with Gawker, which filed for bankruptcy and subsequently closed its doors on Monday.

In an email to Politico, Harder called the claims "100% false, highly damaging to her reputation, and personally hurtful."

"She understands that news media have certain leeway in a presidential campaign," he continued, "but outright lying about her in this way exceeds all bounds of appropriate news reporting and human decency."

Read the full report here.


By Brendan Gauthier

Brendan Gauthier is a freelance writer.

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Charles Harder Donald Trump Elections 2016 Gawker Melania Trump Peter Thiel The Daily Mail