Judge: Melania Trump’s suit against blogger can go forward

ROCKVILLE, Md. – A judge is allowing first lady Melania Trump to move ahead with her libel lawsuit against a blogger who reported rumors that she worked as a high-end escort.

Trump sued the blogger, Webster Tarpley, of Gaithersburg, as well as Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.

Tarpley’s lawyer asked a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge to dismiss the case at a pretrial hearing Friday in Rockville. She argues that Tarpley was within his rights to publish rumors that could have affected the presidential campaign.

Trump’s lawyer says the rumor’s false and that reporters can’t make defamatory statements under the guise of reporting rumors. He says it’s the reporter’s job to vet the rumor before publishing.

The judge rejected Tarpley’s motion to dismiss, but deferred ruling on a similar motion from the Daily Mail.