Associated Press
Trump pal and former modeling agent Paolo Zampolli has been fired from his position of special envoy at the State Department following a bizarre year-long war over email leaks, Politico reported.
A U.S. official told Politico Thursday that Zampolli’s “status as an envoy has been terminated and he is no longer a government employee.”
Zampolli’s firing appears to be the culmination of a nasty feud between the special envoy and the deputy secretary of State Christopher Landau. According to Politico, the two top appointees “have been embroiled in a monthslong fight that includes accusations of leaks to the media and ‘bizarre’ threats of defamation — all over emails that at times included more than a dozen administration officials.”
The emails showed the two men arguing over chains of command, with Landau admonishing Zampolli “to stick to his remit on cultural issues — but devolve into bitter arguments and unproven allegations,” Politico reported.
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The messages stand out not just for the personal vitriol but because upward of 16 administration officials were included at times on the email chains, with the dispute at least once spilling over into communications with a top foreign official, opening a window into delicate State Department back-channeling to allies about apparent violations of diplomatic protocol.
“I am hereby ordering you–once again–to immediately stop all work on ANY issues not directly tied to cultural diplomacy, including every one of the issues you mentioned in your recent emails,” Landau wrote to Zampolli in one email from Nov. 14, 2025.
“You have no authority to engage in ANY issues of foreign policy outside of cultural diplomacy, including all the issues you have named,” he wrote.
In another email Landau accused Zampolli of working outside his “legal authority,” and threatened “disciplinary action, dismissal, and legal liability.” Zampolli denied the allegations to Politico.
Zampolli responded to his firing on X:
Special Envoys appointments are for one year. President Trump extended it for more than six months. Years ago, he told me I was too good for modeling and brought me into real estate. Now he told me: “Why do you want to work in government when you can close all these deals?” The President is always right. Serving him and the United States has been the greatest honor of my life. I am deeply grateful to President Trump, Secretary Rubio and the entire team. Now it is time for the next chapter – back to business, building relationships and closing deals. President Trump changed my life once. He just did it again.
Zampolli once represented Melania Trump when she was a model in New York City in the 1990s, and was credited with introducing Melania to Donald Trump at a party.
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The post Trump Pal and Special Envoy Paolo Zampolli Out at State Department After Year-Long War Over Email Leaks first appeared on Mediaite.
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