Has Melania Trump faced any legal proceedings or investigations in the US?
Executive summary
Melania Trump has been involved in multiple civil legal matters and threatened lawsuits — including a 2017 libel suit against the Daily Mail, defamation threats and letters (notably a $1 billion demand to Michael Wolff and Hunter Biden) that led to at least one counter‑suit, and her name appearing in investor lawsuits over a memecoin; reporting shows no confirmed criminal charges against her in available sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Congressional questions and media scrutiny have also probed her immigration past and fundraising-related inquiries, producing investigations or hearings but not criminal indictments in the records cited [6] [7].
1. Civil litigation and defamation fights: active, public and high‑profile
Melania Trump has pursued and threatened civil litigation over media portrayals. The best-documented past case is a 2017 libel suit she filed in Britain against the Daily Mail, cited by Reuters in a fact check on misleading social claims about other lawsuits [1]. In 2025 her legal team threatened publisher Michael Wolff with a $1 billion suit over allegations linking her to Jeffrey Epstein; Wolff then sued her in New York, saying the threats chilled speech and accusing her of attempting to suppress his reporting [2] [4]. Her lawyers also sent a $1 billion‑level threat to Hunter Biden after comments he made; legal analysts debated the merit of that potential suit [3].
2. Counterclaims, venue choices and First Amendment dynamics
Wolff’s decision to sue in New York — where anti‑SLAPP protections are stronger than Florida’s, the state cited by Melania’s lawyers — shows how venue selection and free‑speech law shape these disputes. Axios reported Wolff framed her threatened suit as an effort to “create a climate of fear” and sought refuge in a jurisdiction with stronger protections for defendants in speech cases [4]. News outlets flagged the strategic function of threatening large damages amounts: they can deter reporting even if the claims are unlikely to prevail [4].
3. Business, branding and the memecoin litigation
Melania’s endorsement of a memecoin drew her into investor lawsuits. Court filings in a putative class action allege the $MELANIA token was among fraudulent tokens sold as part of a larger scheme and argue promoters “weaponized fame” to disarm diligence; those filings added her name to litigation that traces back to complaints filed in April 2025 [5]. Fortune and The Guardian reported the memecoin litigation as an amended filing in broader crypto suits and tied it to a wave of celebrity‑linked token complaints [8] [5].
4. Congressional scrutiny and immigration questions
Her immigration history was specifically examined in congressional settings. Newsweek reported a heated House hearing in which Melania’s visa history was questioned and legal defenders — including her attorney Michael Wildes and outside witnesses — weighed in about the legality of her green card and EB‑1 claims [6]. That probe represents political and legislative scrutiny, not a criminal proceeding, and reporting frames it as part of broader oversight rather than as a prosecution [6].
5. Fundraising and state investigations: “high teas” and local probes
Reporting from earlier years flagged state investigators’ interest in fundraising tied to events marketed under her Be Best initiative; The Hill noted Florida officials had opened an inquiry into a ticketed “high tea” fundraiser, a regulatory scrutiny rather than a criminal indictment [7]. Available sources treat these as investigations into compliance and fundraising practices, not as criminal convictions.
6. What’s not in the record: no criminal charges found in current reporting
Among the sources supplied, Reuters’ fact check found no evidence for a widely‑circulated claim that Melania won a $900 million defamation award against The View and noted the only clear lawsuit on record was the Daily Mail libel case; it reported searches of Florida court records found no separate filed Palm Beach suits by her [1]. Multiple items here show civil threats, investor suits naming celebrity‑linked tokens, congressional questioning and media lawsuits — but the set of provided reports does not document any criminal charges or indictments against Melania Trump [1] [2] [5] [6].
Limitations and competing viewpoints: reporting differs on severity and motive. Her team frames threats of litigation as necessary defenses of reputation; critics and some defendants (Wolff, media critics) say such tactics chill speech and amount to strategic legal pressure [4]. Some outlets emphasize possible visa irregularities or investigative leads; her lawyers and allies have countered that her immigration status was legally obtained [6] [1]. Available sources do not mention any conviction or criminal prosecution of Melania Trump.