Melania Trump Releases Letter From Atty Saying She Came To US '100%' Legally

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Melania Trump released a letter on Wednesday from an immigration lawyer asserting that there is "100% certainty" that she immigrated to the United States legally.

"I am pleased to enclose a letter from my immigration attorney which states that, with 100% certainty, I correctly went through the legal process when arriving in the USA," she tweeted.

A Politico report in August questioned Trump's immigration status, highlighting a period in her career when she appeared to be working in the United States on a tourist visa.

"I can unequivocally state that these allegations are not supported by the record, and are therefore completely without merit," attorney Michael J. Wildes writes in the letter.

-snip-

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/melania-trump-immigration-attorney-letter

[sharp_stick]

1. From her attorney Mr. Harold Bornstein

affiliated with only the greatest, most tremendous, law firms.

[Hugin]

5. Is his brother a Doctor?

I've been thinking of running for office and I need a letter saying I'm the healthiest person (for my age) ever in the history of humans. I'm tremendously healthy. The healthiest!

[baldguy]

24. She's more legal than any other immigrant in history.

[awoke_in_2003]

66. She's so legal

it will make your head spin.

[pepperbear]

69. to whom it my concern.....

[stopbush]

2. Well, I guess that settles that.

[Hugin]

3. Wow... So glad that's cleared up.

My attorney says (at $400.00/hr) I'm totally innocent of any wrong doing, too! And, she'll go on saying it until I'm broke.

[mainstreetonce]

4. When is she scheduling the press conference?

Soon?

[Hugin]

13. It'll be right after the pivot!

Watch for it! It'll be the best press conference! Tremendous!

[Gothmog]

18. I bet that this attorney's rate is far higher than $400 a hour

[Hugin]

21. I agree. But, this leads me to wonder...

Which of Trumpenhammer's pockets the money is going directly back into?

[Botany]

6. " .... a letter from my immigration attorney which states that, with 100% certainty ...."

I wonder if the same person wrote Don's Dr's letter?

I thought Melania was going to meet w/the press and answer these questions in person.

[BSdetect]

7. But what about working illegally?

No mention of that.

[Kber]

26. Exactly!

[bucolic_frolic]

38. Did they examine the occupations

of similar young women from Eastern Europe at that time?

Immigrants do kind of cluster together when they enter the country,
sometimes for several generations

So there could be clues here or there

[randome]

8. Then why not include copies of the documentation?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[unblock]

33. the documentation doesn't prove jack. they can't prove she didn't come to the u.s. earlier

nor can they prove she didn't work while on the travel visa (before she had a work visa).

they can only prove, at best, that she *did* come here while on a proper visa and that she *did* work while on a proper work visa.

even if they're telling the truth, there's no way to document that she didn't come earlier or that she did work.


well, unless they can somehow document all her activities in slovenia (to prove she couldn't have been in the u.s. at that time, not even for a long weekend). that might show she wasn't in the u.s. before the first visa.

but they still can't document that she didn't work while on a travel visa. how could that possibly be documented?

[randome]

46. You're right. Maybe a passport stamp that shows her arriving but not departing?

But they won't furnish anything other than vague pre-written statements signed by unseen individuals in the Trump hierarchy.

Like Meredith McIver's offer of resignation.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

[unblock]

9. "the documentation reflects" that her first entry into the united states was in 1996

well, of course she didn't just hand the lawyer her 1995 plane ticket stubs.

the question was never whether or not she eventually had work visas, the question was whether she was here and working prior to her first work visa.

[Sunlei]

29. wonder how come no foreign "Male models" were included in the 'student visa' trump tower parties?

[PJMcK]

10. Hey, Mrs. Trump: Prove it.

The letter means nothing without some documentation.

This lawyer's letter is as meaningless as Dr. Bornstein's letter about Donald Trump's health.

[trueblue2007]

73. your note is so right on. You're logical.

SHE HAS TO BACK UP HER CLAIM.

[Aristus]

11. Before the transcription into legalese:

"I totally did yes thank you come now here America to for yes legal me to for modelling yes."

[no_hypocrisy]

12. And an attorney always tells the truth?

[Sunlei]

14. "appeared to be working". Were those the naked pics? I think those were taken on trumps jet?

Don't worry, I noticed the antique Jet has brand new leather upholstery throughout, courtesy of the Republican Party 'donors'.

[onehandle]

15. I've got a letter from a magic pixie that says I own Trump Tower.

Get out, squatters!

[Gothmog]

16. This is from the Trump lawyer who defends Trump Modeling agency

[rurallib]

17. Alex, I'll take things rich people can buy that poor people can't for $1000

[SunSeeker]

19. So the letter says she got an H-1B visa in October 1996. But she came to the US earlier.

She obviously came here first on a tourist visa and was here for almost 2 years under a tourist visa. How did she support herself during that time if she could not legally work?

[Coventina]

20. Yes, but did she STAY here legally? Did she come under a tourist visa and then work?

For example?

[Drum]

31. That is indeed the question here!

Such wording as this "statement"---or the letter it refers to---is only designed to prevent further inquiry on later behavior and legality. And isn't THAT specificity and its root topic one of the cornerstones of Trump's whole con?

I'm a US citizen, and have gone overseas on different types of visas for work or vacation. The terms were always very clear. Additionally, I know and have many foreign-born friends and colleagues who have traveled and worked here in the USA (I'm in the performing arts,) and they've related their stories to me.

Visas are no joke, and someone here or out there who tells you "it can be worked around" or "isn't a problem" is always either telling you what you want to hear or is acting in someone's subversive/illegal interest....

Coventina, you ask the relevant question here, and remind us to always watch BOTH hands of the conjuror or card-shark.



(edited for grammar)

[tom_kelly]

22. If it's at 100%, we need back off... n/t

[Historic NY]

23. Still doesn't explain the nude photos taken in NY in Nov-Dec 1995

A: Correct. The photographs originally appeared in the French magazine Max and were published again in the New York Post last weekend. Marc Dolisi, chief editor of Max at the time, told The Washington Post that the pictures appeared in the February 1996 edition of the magazine and had been shot in November or December of 1995. Jarl Ale de Basseville, the photographer, said the shoot was conducted in New York.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/many-questions-and-few-answers-about-how-melania-trump-immigrated-to-the-us/2016/08/04/0c13cc1a-5a3f-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html

[muriel_volestrangler]

44. The lawyer's "explanation" for that is "she says she didn't come to the US before 1996, so ..

... those photos must be from 1996 or later. And she told me this herself. So there."

[unblock]

48. there's no "documentation" of her illegal entry or illegal work, so it couldn't have happened, see.

100% certainty.

[Historic NY]

61. They could FOIA her I94's

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/spotlights/arrivaldeparture-history-now-available-i-94-webpage

https://www.cbp.gov/site-policy-notices/foia/records

[unblock]

62. interesting -- is there a way for a third party to verify the report wasn't tampered with

i mean, she could get the thing and simply erase any reference to travel in 1995.


of course, this is only useful if she did everything by the book, which is much of the question. if she got into the country under a different name or was smuggled in, e.g., this wouldn't reflect that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

53. It's looking like Trump may actually have the year right

Her sexy photo spread appeared in the January 1996 issue of Max Magazine, whose cover featured a photo of supermodel Cindy Crawford.

http://nypost.com/2016/08/01/melania-trumps-girl-on-girl-photos-from-racy-shoot-revealed/

Later Update: We now believe we've confirmed that the January 1996 issue of Max (actually Dec 95/Jan 96) did not have Cindy Crawford on the cover, as the Post claimed. That certainly puts a major dent in the Post's credibility on this issue. We're now trying to track down the Dec 96/Jan 97 issue.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/uh-oh-big-problem-on-melania-immigration-front

Feb 1997 Max, French edition, with Crawford on the front: http://www.crazyaboutmagazines.com/ourshop/prod_3273151-Max-magazine-Cindy-Crawford-cover-February-1997-French-Edition.html

[tanyev]

25. This guy work out of the same office as Dr. Bornstein?

[getagrip_already]

27. lawyers make statements all the time based upon....

The interests of their clients. They are advocates for their clients, and they can and do repeat lies told to them by their clients with the force of fact.

It doesn't mean anything. In essence, it's legal for a lawyer to lie in public on behalf of their clients. In court, not so much. But in public, they are shielded.

[Sanity Claws]

28. But the issue is not whether she

Came here legally. The question is whether she was illegally working while here. It is believed that she only had a visitor visa that did not allow her to work.

[Zambero]

30. From an attorney?

Oh, I get it. "100% certain. Skip the documentation crap. Now here's your bill for my services".

[Princess Turandot]

32. In the letter, the lawyer quotes her as telling him that the 1995 photo shoot...

actually occurred after her claimed arrival date of 10/96.

Those Frenchmen were clever enough to teleport to the future to take photos of her, in order to publish them in their 2/96 magazine!

[procon]

34. Its not so much about what the lawyer affirmed, but rather what he omitted.

Its an absolute worthless declaration of being present and nothing else.

[KeepItReal]

35. You don't just get an H-1B Visa at a US Embassy, it takes corporate sponsorship

Who's the company that sponsored her work visa??

[bucolic_frolic]

36. Did the courts or the government look into it?

They might have a thing or two to say about legality

[brooklynite]

37. I'll bet she's the "MOST legal" immigrant who ever came here...

[Greywing]

39. Is this her press conference?

[bucolic_frolic]

40. News Organizations should FOIA the Census Records of the time periods

Census records aren't released until after about 70 years I think,
but that doesn't mean they don't exist in some form

Perhaps an FOIA request could be used to open the files via the courts

[bullwinkle428]

41. Did the attorney's letter include the phrase "BUH-LIEVE ME!!1!"?

[matt819]

42. Are they all genuinely this stupid? Or do they think we're stupid?

Or they just don't fucking care.

And if they think Trump will be elected, this is the kind of administration it will be. Opaque. Contemptuous of all Americans. Full of small quibbles (22 suicides, not 20) and big lies (see Keith Olberman's video on GQ).

If they don't think they'll be elected, all of this will be meaningless. They think. My hope is the a Clinton administration will go full speed ahead on every single fucking investigation: Foundation/charity lies. Bribery. Trump University. Tax evasion. Immigration fraud. Human trafficking. Inciting assault. Sedition. And more.

Obama was willing to let bygones be bygones. And that's fine, I suppose. But in part it lead us where we are today with the belief by Republicans that they can do or say anything and they will not pay the price.

And my message to Melania: Are you fucking stupid, or what? Release every single fucking piece of paper and let the people decide. Release every single fucking date you entered the US and corresponding visas in your fucking passport. Substantiate when and where you met Donald Trump, your status when you did so, and your status when you married. This was a simple, direct request. As they say, you had only one job. And you failed. What a surprise. The obvious reason is that you were an illegal immigrant when you entered the US and you married for your green card. Were you pregnant when you married? Was that the reason? Some people are saying.

[chelsea0011]

50. Hopefully, by releasing this information will get some journalist on board to

fact check the real story, not her hand-picked attorney story.

[BumRushDaShow]

56. "Obama was willing to let bygones be bygones."

But in part it lead us where we are today with the belief by Republicans that they can do or say anything and they will not pay the price.

Was that statement supposed to be like this?



Because what you wrote was about as ridiculous.

[Grammy23]

43. Long on generalities.....

Light on specifics. Typical Trump. Now move along, nothing to see here...chumps.

[Ford_Prefect]

45. "All we want are the facts, ma'am"

[Tommy_Carcetti]

47. Mr. Wildes' official photograph:

Stay tuned for a letter from Donald Trump's tax accountant, who will tell us that Trump's tax returns "are the best! Believe me!"

[Eugene]

49. On CNN: Let us see the visa. Let us see the visa stamp.

At least some members of the press aren't going to buy this.

[SunSeeker]

54. Nor should they. Evidence points to her being here in 1995.

Melania first entered the U.S. on Aug. 27, 1996, on a visitor visa and received a work visa on Oct. 18 of that year, he said.

But the New York Post published photos in July that show Melania in the January 1996 issue of now-defunct French magazine Max ― images that were shot in New York City in 1995, according to the photographer.

Melania Trump Offers More Details On Her Immigration History, But Still No Proof | Huffington Post
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57d96a60e4b09d7a6880c3f8

Just another Trump lie.

[jtuck004]

51. So, bought another friend, eh?n/t

[onecaliberal]

52. Malania Vanilli and her attorneys are liars. If she really did come here legal show us the document

Otherwise I don't take the word of a woman who said she wrote her own convention speech that turned out to be the words of FLOTUS years earlier. These pretentious assholes really do think we are as stupid as the rubes who support them. She and her attorney can climb right back into the basket where they belong. Zero cred.

[Tempest]

55. He's a lawyer, not an immigration official. He's getting paid by Trump to say this. n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

57. I don't care what your pain-free attorney says, let's release the

records.

[sinkingfeeling]

58. I don't care what your paid-for attorney says, let's release the

records.

[left-of-center2012]

59. So legal it makes your head spin

Believe me

[lark]

60. Amazing. So both drumpfs are good at the partial lie.

She came here legally on a visa, but it wasn't a working permit so she was working illegally, the whole point really. They will say this closes it, but it doesn't even address the issue. Typical lies and spin. She makes me sick, just like her "daddy".

[4lbs]

63. It still doesn't answer the question of why she was paid for that photo shoot in New York while

she was here on a visitor's Visa.

Such a thing would be illegal and could have immediately invalidated her Visa back then, depending on how immigration law was in the mid-1990s.

[TexasBushwhacker]

64. The foteign models that worked for Trump are just as big an issue n/t

[Justice]

65. Photographer says he photographed Melania in NYC in late 1995

"Marc Dolisi, chief editor of Max at the time, told The Washington Post that the pictures appeared in the February 1996 edition of the magazine and had been shot in November or December of 1995. Jarl Ale de Basseville, the photographer, said the shoot was conducted in New York."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/many-questions-and-few-answers-about-how-melania-trump-immigrated-to-the-us/2016/08/04/0c13cc1a-5a3f-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html

[awoke_in_2003]

67. She is also

the healthiest person ever to emigrate to America.

[olddad56]

68. what about the times when she didn't come here legally?

[niyad]

70. has anyone actually SEEN lying melanoma since the rnc?

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

71. My 2 cents

Firstly, Mr. Wildes is very well respected in the immigration community. His father, Leon Wildes, was John Lennon's attorney when John and Yoko were seeking their lawful permanent residence ('green card'). (note: I never worked in his firm)

Secondly, I cannot disclose much except to say that I have first-hand knowledge of events and documentation related to the subject matter and I can state that - for at least a huge chunk of years - the subject matter was authorized to work in the U.S. and subsequently was a permanent resident and later became a naturalized citizen.

I cannot stand the Trumps and I will vociferously state as such at any time and to anyone. However, on this point (that is, Mrs. Trump's immigration history from the H-1B to the LPR and naturalization), I can 100% state I am in full agreement with Mr. Wildes' assessment.

[bettyellen]

72. Apparently they lied because the visa program they refer to did not exist yet...

http://www.americanlaw.com/vwpp.html

[librechik]

74. $$$

whatever

[rickford66]

75. Just show us the long form