Stephanie Wolkoff will have ‘last laugh’ in DC suit, has millions of docs Melania knew of spending: WH insider
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff who served as an unofficial, voluntary adviser to Melania Trump, deposed to the Washington DC Attorney General on Wednesday. Trump's inaugural committee was sued by the city in January 2020 over allegations that it spent more than $1Million to book a ballroom at the Trump International Hotel for celebrations. The suit alleges it was a scheme to ameliorate the Trump family who at the time had used Wolkoff as a scapegoat shifting the entire blame on her for the overspending. Daughter and advisor to Donald Trump, Ivanka had also created a false narrative that Wolkoff ran off with millions of dollars, sources told Daily Mail.
An insider close to the White House has also spoken to the outlet stating the FLOTUS "should have thought twice" before letting Wolkoff, who also doubled as her former best friend, take the blame over Trump's expensive inauguration. They also added, "Three years later it's all come full circle, and now Stephanie is the one with the last laugh - and the last word."
Wolkoff served as an advisor to Melanie Trump in the East Wing of the White House until February 2018 after which she left the position amid controversy. A number of reports back then stated that her ouster was a result of Trump and Melania's anger over the spending for the inauguration celebration in January 2017. However, Wolkoff has always maintained that she wasn't ousted, rather "thrown under the bus." She was deposed on Wednesday with DC Attorney General Karl Racine describing Wolkoff's testimony as "truthful, honest and fulsome". He also added that it "strengthens" the city's case, to CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night.
The insider told the outlet, "They all thought, Melania included, that Stephanie would just quietly go away, but the opposite, she's one of the key witnesses in the lawsuit against the committee, the Trump Organization and the Trump International Hotel for their misuse of non-profit funds". Wolkoff has provided around 20,000 documents but sources told the outlet that there are "millions" of documents that she possesses, proving that Melania was aware of the spendings and was involved in the planning of the events right from the beginning.
The attorneys have also subpoenaed records from Ivanka, Melania, Thomas Barrack Jr. a close friend of the president who chaired the inaugural committee, and others. Ivanka was interrogated for more than five hours last week and she lashed out at Racine on Twitter saying, "This 'inquiry' is another politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness & waste of taxpayer dollars." Also attached was an email dated December 2016 in which she wrote: "Just seeing this. Why don't you call and negotiate? It should be a fair market rate."
Earlier this year, Wolkoff had published the New York Times Bestseller 'Melania & Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady'. The First Lady had brushed it off calling it a "book of idle gossip trying to distort my character." She had also claimed that Wolkoff "hardly knew" her and "clung" to her as Donald Trump won the presidency. Speaking about the book and what Melania claimed about it, the insider told the outlet that Wolkoff penned the memoir to "share her experience."
"Stephanie had her back. In fact, she's the only who had Melania's back, and the only one who was thrown under the bus for something she didn't do. Well, three years later it's all come full circle, and now Stephanie is the one with the last laugh and the last word," added the insider.