First lady Melania Trump is asking a federal judge to sanction journalist Michael Wolff, arguing he abused the court system after filing what her attorneys describe as a meritless lawsuit designed to generate publicity and fundraising while attempting to head off a $1 billion defamation case.

In a motion filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Trump's legal team asked the court to require Wolff and his attorneys to pay her legal fees and other costs incurred in defending against his unsuccessful lawsuit, according to Courthouse News Service.

According to the filing, Wolff "falsely accused Mrs. Trump of being tied to Jeffrey Epstein's misconduct" and, rather than retracting those statements after receiving a demand letter, "raced to a New York court" in an effort to secure what her attorneys called an improper legal shield before she could file a defamation lawsuit, the New York Post reported.

"Plaintiff filed a patently meritless lawsuit and used it to harass Mrs. Trump in public," her attorneys argued, accusing Wolff of turning the litigation into "a fundraising drive and a political spectacle."

The dispute began after Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, demanded that Wolff retract statements alleging the first lady had connections to convicted sex offender Epstein.

Instead, Wolff filed a preemptive lawsuit seeking a declaration that his comments were protected.

In May, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed Wolff's case, writing that the author was improperly asking the court to rule on a hypothetical future lawsuit.

"Plaintiff asks for a declaration that, if the First Lady sues him, he deserves to win. That is not how the federal courts work," Vyskocil wrote.

The judge also criticized what she described as Wolff's "tactical gamesmanship" and efforts at forum shopping, though she cautioned during a July hearing that sanctions carry a "very high burden" and questioned whether further litigation was in either party's interest.

Trump's attorneys contend the sanctions request is warranted regardless of whether Wolff's statements are ultimately found defamatory.

They argue his filings contained unsupported factual assertions, including speculation about the Trumps' marriage that they say was irrelevant and intended only to embarrass the first lady.

The filing also points to Wolff's continued fundraising through GoFundMe and promotion of the litigation on his Substack page.

According to court papers, Wolff has raised more than $836,000 while pledging to use the lawsuit to compel testimony from President Donald Trump and the first lady regarding Epstein.

Melania Trump has repeatedly denied any association with Epstein, saying she was never his friend and that any encounters occurred only because their social circles occasionally overlapped in New York and Palm Beach, Florida.

Wolff has maintained he never accused the first lady of participating in Epstein's criminal conduct, though he has defended his broader reporting about the Trumps' relationship with the disgraced financier.