QUESTION OF TIMING

Trump Facing Urgent Demand for Answers Over Rape-Accused Pal

The woman claiming Paolo Zampolli assaulted her wants to know if her lawsuit going public played a role in his dismissal.

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The Trump administration is facing “critical questions” over whether horrific sexual assault allegations against one of the president’s friends triggered his sudden dismissal.

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Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent who claims to have introduced Donald and Melania Trump in 1998, was fired from his post as a special envoy without explanation last Thursday.

The dismissal came hours after the dramatic leaking of emails detailing a bitter, long-running feud between him and another senior State Department official.

But lawyers representing a woman suing Zampolli for allegedly drugging and raping her have told PunchUp that they want to know whether her case going public this month contributed to his firing.

In her lawsuit, Victoria Drake, 33, says that she lost consciousness at his Manhattan townhouse in October 2023 after Zampolli, 56, gave her a drink. She claims she briefly regained consciousness to find herself naked in bed as Zampolli sexually assaulted her with his hands around her neck.

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Zampolli vehemently denies Drake’s claims, the allegations have not been adjudicated, and he has not been found liable.

His sudden departure as special envoy came just 10 days after the Daily Beast and its sister Substack outlet PunchUp revealed Drake’s allegation. The Trump administration refuses to say if the two are related, but her attorneys say they intend to use the law to find out whether Drake’s suit influenced the decision.

Drake’s attorney, Jesse Weinstein, told PunchUp: “Regarding Mr. Zampolli’s recent firing from the Trump administration, we will include in our litigation efforts to answer numerous critical questions relevant to the case, including the relationship between Ms. Drake’s claims to Mr. Zampolli’s termination.”

As part of that effort, Weinstein wants to know exactly what White House and State Department officials knew about the lawsuit, when they learned of the allegation, and if it influenced their decision to remove him from his post, the outlet reports.

Zampolli denies Drake’s claims had anything to do with his departure. He told PunchUp: “At no point was I told that the Daily Beast reporting, Victoria Drake’s allegations, or her lawsuit played any role in the decision. I think there is an effort to connect events that, from everything I was told, were not connected.”

Claiming that his appointment had been for one year, and that Trump had extended it for more than six additional months before telling him to return to the world of business, Zampolli added: “I discussed my departure directly with the president. We agreed it was time for my next chapter.”

He previously told PunchUp that he had not discussed the allegations with Trump or the White House before the report was published.

Weinstein is also seeking to learn about the leaked internal memos that exposed a simmering feud between Zampolli and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, 62, on the day Zampolli left the Trump administration.

Furious correspondence between the pair was made public hours before Zampolli lost his job, despite having been sent months earlier with more than a dozen Trump administration officials copied in.

Zampolli’s departure was announced on Oct. 15, after Politico published the remarkable story about his long-running battle. The outlet revealed emails in which Landau accused the envoy of exceeding his authority and warned Zampolli could face disciplinary action or dismissal.

The dispute turned ugly last June, when Zampolli accused Landau of leaking to the media and demanded an investigation into his conduct. Landau denied the accusations and in return accused Zampolli of sending inappropriate messages to senior officials.

Weinstein said: “The timing of both the leaked State Department emails immediately preceding Mr. Zampolli’s termination and Ms. Drake’s lawsuit are of particular interest to us as we strategize the litigation. We look forward to seeing this case play out in Court.”

In response, Zampolli said: “The Landau correspondence was months old. By the time of my departure, that relationship had been normalized. I was not aware of any ongoing disciplinary proceeding or plan to remove me because of it. I have no evidence as to who leaked the emails or why, and I am not going to speculate.”

Drake, a model and tech entrepreneur, says she reported the alleged attack to New York police, who gave her a medical examination, but ultimately did not pursue the case. Her lawyers have accused Zampolli of avoiding being served papers for the lawsuit.

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Zampolli has accused Drake of attempting to extort him, and three weeks ago threatened a $100 million lawsuit of his own against her, which he is yet to file.

He said: “I categorically deny her allegations and will address them through the proper legal process.”

The Trump administration was asked whether Drake’s allegations and the publicity around her lawsuit contributed to Zampolli’s dismissal. The White House referredPunchUp’s inquiry to the State Department, whose spokesperson said it “does not comment on internal personnel matters.”

Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.

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