HAH! Remember the blogger who called Melania a “high-end escort?”

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | January 27, 2017 2:16 pm

Blogger Webster Tarpley[1] had claimed First Lady Melania Trump had worked as a “high-end escort.” Melania then sued him for $150 million in a libel suit. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Sharon Burrell has ruled that Melania’s case can move forward, clearing the first hurdle in the legal proceeding. Tarpley’s effort to get the case dismissed as a bad-faith lawsuit was rejected. The judge found that Melania had grounds for defamation since she was basically called a prostitute. The judge also slammed Tarpley’s attorneys for playing word games by claiming that there was no libelous effect after Tarpley stated that Melania suffered a mental breakdown that forced her off the campaign trail.

Webster Tarpley is an abhorrent human being and I hope the courts throw the book at him. I do not blame Melania for suing this dirt bag. She is also suing the Daily Mail for similar claims and will fight that out in the British courts probably. Although there is a chance it could remain in the Maryland courts depending on what the judge decides. It is not clear if the suit against the media outlet will proceed, but I assume it will.

Melania[2]

From Politico:

First Lady Melania Trump prevailed Friday in the first round of a $150 million libel suit she filed against a Maryland blogger over a report he published last summer about claims that Trump worked as a “high-end escort.”

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Sharon Burrell rejected arguments from lawyers for blogger Webster Tarpley to dismiss Trump’s suit for failing to meet the “actual malice” standard for public figures. The judge also turned down Tarpley’s effort to dismiss the suit under a Maryland law aimed at quickly shutting down bad-faith lawsuits intended to intimidate people speaking out on issues of public concern.

“The court finds the plaintiff has stated a claim for defamation,” Burrell ruled after hearing arguments on the issue in a Rockville courtroom. “The court believes most people, when they hear the words ‘high-end escort’ that describes a prostitute. There could be no more defamatory statement than to call a woman a prostitute.”

The judge also accused Tarpley’s lawyers of playing “word games” by arguing that there was no libelous effect of his claims that Melania Trump suffered a mental breakdown that forced her off the campaign trail.

Both Tarpley and the Daily Mail retracted their posts after complaints from Trump’s lawyers. Burrell said Tarpley’s bid to end the case under Maryland’s Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation law (sometimes called a SLAPP law) failed because there was no indication the suit was brought in bad faith.

This right here is why we have libel laws. A blogger going around accusing someone of being a secret call girl is definitely defamation of character. All this is because Melania Trump is a stunning woman and married to a Republican, who is now President of the United States. It was a vile and vicious attack, certainly worthy of a lawsuit. This is fake news at its very worst and there should be consequences for it.

First Lady Melania Trump won the opening round of a libel suit when a judge refused to dismiss the case. | Getty[3]

First Lady Melania Trump won the opening round of a libel suit when a judge refused to dismiss the case. | Getty

Endnotes:
  1. Blogger Webster Tarpley: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/melania-trump-libel-suit-blogger-234263
  2. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Melania-1-e1485543522586.jpg
  3. [Image]: https://rightwingnews1.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Melania1-e1485543577211.jpg

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