In a recent revelation, it was claimed by renowned author Michael Wolff that Donald Trump had reportedly mentioned to associates that he was romantically involved with his 28-year-old assistant at the White House. This assertion was made in a section of a book draft shared with Jeffrey Epstein, the controversial financier, in an email back in 2019.
The assistant in question, named Madeleine Westerhout, promptly dismissed the claims made by Wolff as “absurd” and detached from reality. This email was part of a vast collection of documents and communications, totaling 23,000, that were handed over to Congress by Epstein’s estate.
The draft highlighted an incident during the 2018 Christmas holiday when Trump opted to stay at the White House instead of joining his family at Mar A Lago, his Florida retreat. Melania Trump had already departed for Florida but briefly returned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Washington, D.C.
Wolff’s draft, which obscured the assistant’s identity in his book ‘Siege,’ described a scenario where Trump’s personal secretary, Madeleine Westerhout, delivered papers to him in the residence while mentioning to friends that she found him in his undergarments. Westerhout had been a longtime member of Trump’s staff and previously worked as an elevator attendant at Trump Tower during the transition period.
The book draft further detailed Trump’s purported remarks to friends, suggesting that his decision to stay at the White House during the shutdown was motivated by his relationship with Westerhout. However, Westerhout’s attorney vehemently denied these allegations, labeling them as baseless and defamatory.
Moreover, in her own book released in 2020, titled “Off the Record,” Westerhout recounted her dismissal from the White House staff following indiscreet comments she made to reporters about the President’s family. Notably, her book did not mention any romantic involvement with Trump.
President Trump denounced the release of the files as a ploy by Democrats to divert attention from the government shutdown. He asserted on Truth Social that the situation was akin to a “Russia, Russia, Russia Scam,” insinuating Democratic involvement. The records, according to Trump, indicated close ties between various individuals, including himself, and Epstein.
Trump explained his 2018 Christmas stay at the White House by citing the government shutdown and border wall funding issues. Melania’s return from Mar a Lago for a Christmas Eve event, where she and Trump participated in a call with children tracking Santa’s flight, was marred by an incident where Trump’s comment about Santa to a seven-year-old child irked Melania.
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