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Melania Trump Threatens ‘People’ Magazine With Lawsuit Over Article Written By Trump Accuser, Natasha Stoynoff

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 13:54 PST, Oct 13, 2016

Melania Trump is threatening People magazine with a lawsuit if they don’t comply with her demands. Her attorney is demanding the magazine redact certain statements in an article made by its writer, Natasha Stoynoff, in her allegations that she was groped by Donald Trump.

Melania Trump tweeted the legal documents on her Twitter account Thursday night detailing the demands. Her lawyer insists that the publication take out portions of the article cited as being “false and completely fictionalized.”

The piece written by Stoynoff titled, “Physically Attacked by Donald Trump — A PEOPLE Writer’s Harrowing Story,” accuses Donald Trump of pinning her against a wall and forcibly kissing her while Melania went to change clothes. The incident allegedly occurred in 2005 at the Trumps’ Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Stoynoff was reportedly there to interview Donald and Melania Trump in celebration of their first wedding anniversary.

According to the legal documents from Mrs. Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, she wants three statements redacted from Stoynoff’s story. The papers demand the magazine “immediately and permanently remove” the below statements, then “print a prominent retraction and apology.”

The statements quoted in the letter read are:

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.”

Melania Trump denies ever encountering Natasha Stoynoff on the street, nor did she have any conversation with her as the author alleges. The letter goes on to read that “the two are not friends and were never friends or even friendly.”

Melania was said to have never recognized Stoynoff on the street during the time in question. The Trump accuser claimed she bumped into Mrs. Trump outside of Trump Tower and they had a brief talk.

The papers threatened legal action if the article wasn’t removed within 24 hours.

Natasha Stoynoff claimed in her story that Donald Trump commented they were going to “have an affair.” She went on to reveal in her first-person account that she was shaken up after the ordeal, regaining her composure once Melania Trump reappeared after changing her wardrobe for a photo shoot. Stoynoff wrote that the interview continued and Trump acted as though nothing happened just moments prior.

Melania Trump’s attorney also represented Hulk Hogan in his lawsuit against Gawker. Harder has sent threatening letters to news publications before on Mrs. Trump’s behalf.

Donald Trump is deluged by accusations that he committed sexual assault against many other women. Several have come forward since the Access Hollywood tape from 2005 was leaked last week. In the tape, the presidential candidate talked about grabbing a woman by the genitalia and kissing them if he felt like it since celebrities can do whatever they want. Since the tape’s release, Trump’s campaign has suffered a massive blow in approval ratings. With only 25 days until the presidential election, the fallout is epic and Trump faces an uphill battle in light of the sexual assault allegations, which he slams as outright lies and smears.

For her part, Melania Trump has largely kept a low profile the last few months. She released a statement last week after the tape was released to say she was “offended” and found her husband’s behavior unacceptable. The model did encourage people to still vote for her husband because she knows the good in his heart.

The threatening letter that Melania Trump had her attorney fire off was sent to People’s editorial director, Jess Cagle. It’ll be interesting to see if the magazine redacts any of the statements or keeps the story that Natasha Stoynoff wrote as is.

[Featured Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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