司法部周二对第一夫人的一名前高级助手提起民事诉讼梅兰妮·特朗普谁在上个月发行了一本告白书以该死的启示为特色她和第一夫人的友谊以及她在白宫的时光。
DOJ在提交给哥伦比亚特区联邦法院的一份文件中表示，斯蒂芬妮·温斯顿·沃尔科夫违反了一项保密协议，该协议是她在2017年8月作为梅兰妮·特朗普的高级顾问自愿在东翼任职之前签署的。
部门律师认为沃尔科夫签署的NDA没有终止日期。
民事诉状称，沃尔科夫违反了这些具有约束力的承诺，写了一本书，被西蒙·舒斯特公司宣传为“严厉的告白”和“告白的史诗般尖叫”。美国试图让沃尔科夫履行她的合同和信托义务，并确保她不会因违反自己在担任第一夫人顾问时自由承担的职责而不公正地致富。"
司法部正在寻求对沃尔科夫的法院命令，要求她说明她可能从书中获得的任何利润，并将其存入政府信托基金，以及支付政府对她的诉讼的任何法院费用和律师费。
沃尔科夫没有立即回应美国广播公司新闻部对诉讼发表评论的请求。
该诉讼已经在第一修正案的支持者和律师中引起了恐慌，他们认为这相当于司法部又一次倾向于维护美国公民的利益唐纳德·特朗普总统和他的家人。
律师马克·扎伊德说:“这完全是司法部为了个人原因而滥用职权。”在推特上说。“而且在法律上是不可执行的。”
司法部过去曾对被发现违反他们在进入政府时签署的保密协议的个人提起诉讼，但这种案件通常只涉及所谓的机密信息披露。然而，对沃尔科夫的诉讼并没有指控她披露了任何机密材料，而是引用了她公布的关于第一夫人办公室人事决定的细节、她“做最好的”倡议的细节以及她与总统的对话。
DOJ单独起诉前国家安全顾问约翰·博尔顿因为违反合同，并涉嫌在今年夏天早些时候出版的回忆录《发生的房间》中披露机密信息。
Justice Department sues Melania Trump's former adviser over tell-all book
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a civil lawsuit against a former top aide to first ladyMelania Trumpwho released a tell-all book last monthfeaturing damning revelationsfrom her friendship with the first lady and her time in the White House.
In a filing in D.C. federal court, the DOJ said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff breached a non-disclosure agreement that she signed in August 2017 before serving in a voluntary role in the East Wing as a senior adviser to Melania Trump.
Department attorneys argued that the NDA signed by Wolkoff had no termination date.
"In violation of these binding commitments, Ms. Wolkoff has written a book that Simon & Schuster promotes as a "scathing tell-all" and an "epic scream of a tell-all," the civil complaint says. "The United States seeks to hold Ms. Wolkoff to her contractual and fiduciary obligations and to ensure that she is not unjustly enriched by her breach of the duties she freely assumed when she served as an advisor to the First Lady."
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff leaves Trump Tower, Dec. 5, 2016, in New York.
The Justice Department is seeking a court order against Wolkoff, demanding she account for any profits she may have received from the book and place them into a government trust, as well as pay of any of the government's court costs and attorney's fees for their suit against her.
Wolkoff did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the lawsuit.
undefinedMORE: Judge hears arguments on Trump administration's push to stop Bolton memoir
The lawsuit has already provoked alarm among First Amendment advocates and attorneys, who argued it amounts to yet another instance of the Justice Department being bent to align with the interests ofPresident Donald Trumpand his family.
"This is a complete abuse of the Justice Dept to pursue this case for personal reasons," attorney Mark Zaidsaid on Twitter."And it's legally unenforceable."
The Justice Department has in the past brought lawsuits against individuals found to have violated their non-disclosure agreements that they signed upon entering government -- but such cases are typically only brought over alleged disclosures of classified information. The lawsuit against Wolkoff, however, doesn't allege she disclosed any classified material -- instead citing details she published about personnel decisions in the first lady's office, details on her "Be Best" initiative and conversations she had with the president.
The DOJ is separately suing former national security adviserJohn Boltonfor breach of contract and allegedly disclosing classified information in his memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," published earlier this summer.
