It’s been a rough year for the Media. Melania Trump takes the next step in her libel suit against The Daily Mail and their parent company, Mail Media. The Daily Mail raised questions about Mrs. Trump’s past, her journey to become a US Citizen, and her legal status.

The article in question is titled:
“Naked photoshoots, and troubling questions about visa that won’t go away: The VERY racy past of Donald Trump’s Slovenian wife.”

The first lady filed the lawsuit in 2016, and has already made one court appearance in Maryland related to the suit. Now Mail Media wants to see their case moved to New York, where they believe they will find a more forgiving judicial system.

The Hollywood Reporter has had exclusive access to this story since the beginning, the Trump’s have hired the same lawyers that represented Hulk Hogan in his civil suit against Gawker.

The action was filed in Maryland, and now both sides are fighting over whether the lawsuit from Ms. Trump, who became a U.S. citizen a decade ago, really belongs in the state. Sometimes, jurisdiction is one of those dry procedural issues of law that glazes one’s eyes. But this one deserves attention.

Trump is represented by Beverly Hills attorney Charles Harder, who found success in a Florida state court (after initially experiencing a setback in a federal one) against Gawker in the Hulk Hogan sex tape case. In an interview with THR last September, Harder admitted to having charts in his office mapping the differences in libel and privacy laws throughout the country. But there’s more to the tactical game of litigation. Various states also have anti-SLAPP statutes that can sometimes result in plaintiffs having to pay defendants their legal fees in frivolous lawsuits that arise from First Amendment activity. Some jurisdictions have heavy case loads that move slowly, while other courts move at a more brisk pace. Not to be ignored, some judges have lifetime appointments, while others get on the bench through elections. That might be of importance in a case receiving the public spotlight.

In other words, it’s no small deal where a lawsuit gets filed, and so when Harder filed this lawsuit in Maryland, naming one local blogger few had ever heard of as a co-defendant, one can presume he saw some advantage to the location.

Good for Melania for standing up for herself. The age of yellow journalism has reached the stage of consequences.

To show support, here’s Melania Trump looking fierce…
I’m thinking of just adding a few pictures of Melania to all of my posts about the First Family. I mean she is the First Lady of Fashion, and inspiring to see.