The US Justice Department on Monday dropped a lawsuit against Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former aide to Melania Trump who was accused of violating a non-disclosure agreement by writing a tell-all book about the former first lady.
In a one-sentence filing in US District Court for the District of Columbia, acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said the United States "voluntarily dismisses this action."
The lawsuit, which was filed in October, had asked the court to set aside in a government trust profits from the book, "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady," which offers an unflattering portrayal of former President Donald Trump's wife.
Winston Wolkoff and Melania Trump reached a non-disclosure agreement in August 2017, according to a copy of the complaint seen by Reuters. Winston Wolkoff's tenure at the White House ended in early 2018.
Winston Wolkoff said when the lawsuit was filed that she had fulfilled all the terms of her agreement with Melania Trump and the legal action was an effort to silence her.
The complaint had said that the Justice Department had jurisdiction in the case because of the first lady's traditional public role dating back to Martha Washington, wife of the first US president, George Washington.