Melania Trump's Ex-Adviser, Inauguration Planner Writes Book

Socialite Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former adviser to first lady Melania Trump and a longtime friend whose hiring to plan the president's inauguration has come under fire, will release a memoir about their friendship this fall, promising a "revealing and explosive portrayal" of their relationship.

According to Vanity Fair, "Melania and Me: My Years as Confidant, Adviser and Friend to the First Lady" will be released Sept. 1 and will detail their 15-year friendship and Wolkoff's ouster after she helped plan the president's inauguration and worked in the East Wing for the first lady.

According to a Google Books summary, the book also promises "observations of the most chaotic White House in history." 

The book will mark the second about the first lady. The other, Mary Jordan's "The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump" gave details about how she had renegotiated her prenuptial agreement after Trump won the 2016 election. 

Wolkoff served as an unpaid adviser to Melania Trump in the East Wing until February 2018, reports the U.K.'s Daily Mail, when she left after controversy over reports, her firm, WIS Media Partners, got a $26 million payment for working on the inauguration. The company was formed just 45 days before the inauguration and was paid more than other vendors. 

The firm reportedly spent $24 million on contractors, according to a source, but Wolkoff provided the "whole look and feel" and the "creative vision" for 18 to 20 inaugural events. 

Wolkoff's earnings were reported at $1.62 million, but other documentation showed she took $500,000 personally, with the rest going to other producers. Before planning the inauguration, Wolkoff worked as a special events planner for Vogue, was a fashion director for Lincoln Center, and helped stage the Met Gala. 

She told The New York Times she was not fired, but rather "thrown under the bus," and claimed she did not receive either $26 million or $1.6 million.

The inaugural committee's spending and fundraising are under investigation by the Southern District of Manhattan, and Wolkoff is reported to be working with prosecutors.

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