Donald Trump's indictment in Georgia this week over alleged attempts to overturn results from the 2020 election has yet again exposed the former president to legal challenges that could harm his chances of a White House return.

The 98-page indictment spurred by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation includes charges against Trump and others under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. In total, there are 41 charges connected to the criminal indictment. The former president denies any wrongdoing.

In the lead-up to the grand jury indictment this week, rumors of other legal woes began breaking through online including suggestions the former president could be handed divorce papers from Melania Trump.

The Claim

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by @PopularLiberal, on August 11, 2023, viewed more than 770,000 times, said: "It appears that leaked emails have revealed Melania Trump's apparent threats of divorce towards Donald Trump, along with her inquiries about his pension and the terms she would be entitled to in a $2 billion divorce settlement."

The tweet also includes a video that repeats these lines and adds: "Apparently, as I said, she's left him. It's over."

The Facts

This allegation appears to be based on a misquote of a gossip article, which itself is based on unverified and anonymous quotes

The social posts are a near-verbatim copy of an article published by gossip site Radar on August 8, 2023.

However, that article does not say that emails have leaked and bases its claims entirely on unnamed sources.

It states how a number of "insiders" claim Melania Trump was anxious about the possibility that her personal emails could be leaked in a subpoena.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently attempted to subpoena her messages as part of the indictment against Trump over alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The request was quashed by Judge Juan Merchan for being too broad, reported CBS News.

One anonymous source told Radar that Melania Trump had "likely written multiple emails to counsel asking for guidance on her rights if her husband is convicted on all these charges and if she should use whatever she knows to squeeze him in divorce court."

Another source was quoted as saying "blistering email exchanges between the first lady and the president focused on his seeming betrayal, her lack of trust and her desire to pursue a divorce." And another reportedly added: "If these emails were to go public, it would rip the Band-Aid off Donald and Melania's marriage, and almost certainly drive her into divorce court!"

None of these anonymous quotes were verified with further evidence. Radar, unlike the posts on X, does not say that the emails have been leaked or have revealed details of a divorce settlement.

Although the headline of the article may suggest the emails have already been revealed, the copy shows no such messages have been published yet.

Crucially, outside of the story and social media speculation, there is no verifiable evidence, such as court filings, that shows the couple is getting or planning to get divorced.

While we cannot rule out behind-the-scenes discussions, there is simply no concrete proof that the pair are splitting, as is speculated online.

Newsweek has contacted a media representative of Donald Trump for comment.

The Ruling

False.

There is no verifiable evidence that suggests Donald Trump and Melania Trump are getting a divorce.

The claims on Twitter are a misquote of a gossip article that is based on the accounts of unnamed Trump "insiders."

The article claims, based on anonymous sources, that as yet unrevealed emails may include information about divorce. The article does not substantiate that claim any further and does not state the emails have been leaked.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump held a "very good" phone call on Wednesday, during which the pair discussed the preliminary agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin one day prior.

"Just completed a very good telephone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine," Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social just moments after the hourlong call wrapped. "Much of the discussion was based on the call made yesterday with President Putin in order to align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs. 

"We are very much on track," Trump added. 

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE RUSSIA, UKRAINE CEASEFIRE TALKS?

Putin on Tuesday agreed to stop hitting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, though the ceasefire did not extend to the frontlines or civilian populations as the Trump administration had originally hoped. 

Despite skepticism from Ukraine and European leaders, special envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday said he believes a full ceasefire can be achieved in a couple of weeks. 

He also said an official meeting between Trump and Putin is "likely to happen," as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security advisor Mike Waltz plan to return to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss the details of the Tuesday agreement. 

It is unclear at this time if a Ukrainian delegation will also be returning to Saudi Arabia to begin discussions with Russian counterparts. 

EVEN IF TRUMP SECURES UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL, CAN PUTIN BE TRUSTED?

Putin also agreed to exchange 175 prisoners as well as the return of 23 "seriously wounded" Ukrainians as a "gesture of goodwill."

Just moments after his call with Trump was intended to take place, Zelenskyy said in a post on X that "one of the largest POW exchanges" had taken place and showed a picture of men with Ukrainian flags draped over them returning from Russian captivity. 

Zelenskyy confirmed that 175 soldiers and 22 "defenders" had been released. 

"We are also grateful to all our partners, especially the United Arab Emirates, for making today’s exchange possible," he added, though he did not mention U.S. efforts in the negotiations. 

International leaders voiced frustration that the deal Ukraine agreed to last week was not accepted by Putin during Trump's discussions with him, though Trump on Tuesday told Fox News' Laura Ingraham on the "Ingraham Angle" that pushing Putin further into a ceasefire would have been tough. "Russia has the advantage."

Zelenskyy’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s questions following the Trump-Putin call, but in a message posted to X, the Ukrainian president argued that "Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire."

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"It would be right for the world to respond by rejecting any attempts by Putin to prolong the war," he continued, highlighting Russia's continued attacks on Ukrainian civilians, including a Tuesday night Shahed drone strike on a hospital in Ukraine's Sumy region.

"Sanctions against Russia. Assistance to Ukraine. Strengthening allies in the free world and working toward security guarantees," Zelenskyy listed as steps the Western world should take to counter Putin. "Only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer."

Zelenskyy has warned that he doesn't trust Putin to stick to a ceasefire because Russia hasn't abided by previous agreements with Ukraine.

The White House also signaled that the Trump administration wants to improve relations between the U.S. and Russia, saying in the statement: "The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved."

The call began around 10 a.m. ET and lasted at least an hour and a half.

A Kremlin aide later wrote in a post on X that it was "a PERFECT call." He may have been referring to the infamous phone conversation Trump held with Zelenskyy in 2019 in which Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate Hunter Biden and suggested that the U.S. would withhold aid if Zelenskyy didn't cooperate. Trump later said it was a "perfect call," though the House, then controlled by Democrats, impeached the president for the first time later that year.

Trump said late Monday that he looked forward to the call with Putin in a post on Truth Social, adding that “many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.”

While the White House readout didn't include specific details of what a permanent ceasefire would entail, the call most likely involved a discussion of what Ukraine will have to give up to achieve a pause after three years of fighting since Putin ordered his troops to invade Russia’s neighbor.

Trump, who has been trying to win Putin’s support for a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week, said late Sunday that discussions with Putin would involve “dividing up certain assets” that included land and power plants.

The president has intimated that the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe’s biggest nuclear facility, as well as land — Ukraine controls part of the Russian region of Kursk, while Russia holds several regions of Ukraine — will be up for discussion.

He told reporters in Washington on Monday that Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region were “in deep trouble,” according to Reuters, adding that his administration’s temporary suspension of military and intelligence assistance to Kyiv was an attempt to "get Ukraine to do the right thing.”

Putin has repeatedly indicated that Russia wants to cement his country’s land grabs during the war and stop Kyiv from ever joining NATO. Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told ABC News on Sunday that the prospect of a pathway into NATO for Ukraine was “incredibly unlikely.”

Zelenskyy has previously stated that he would be willing to resign in exchange for peace or NATO membership, which he sees as imperative for Ukrainian security.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who met with Putin in Moscow last week, on Sunday suggested that the ceasefire discussions would likely involve territorial concessions from Kyiv over Kursk — the western Russian region where Ukraine has a foothold and where Kremlin troops have recently moved closer to ejecting Kyiv's forces.

Referring to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe's largest such facility in southeastern Ukraine — Witkoff said that the "nuclear reactor that supplies quite a bit of electricity to the country of Ukraine" has "got to be dealt with."

He added that implementing a ceasefire would involve access to ports and a potential agreement over the Black Sea.

The apparent territorial ambitions of Putin have upended the security landscape in Eastern Europe, with Ukraine's neighbors upping their defense budgets and beginning to remilitarize in recent years.

In that vein, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said Tuesday that they were withdrawing from the Ottawa Treaty, an international agreement banning antipersonnel mines.

“The U.S. is negotiating with Russia about other people’s territory, which is precisely the nightmare scenario that not just Ukraine, but other countries in the east of Europe had feared,” Keir Giles, a fellow with the London-based think tank Chatham House, told NBC News before the call.

Giles added that the impact was limited not just to Europe, but also to other U.S. allies "watching this process with horror because they know ... that they could be next.”

Лидеры продолжили подробный и откровенный обмен мнениями по ситуации вокруг Украины. Владимир Путин выразил признательность Дональду Трампу за стремление способствовать достижению благородной цели прекращения боевых действий и человеческих потерь.

Подтвердив принципиальную приверженность мирному разрешению конфликта, Президент России заявил о готовности к совместной с американскими партнёрами тщательной проработке возможных путей урегулирования, которое должно носить комплексный, устойчивый и долгосрочный характер. И конечно, учитывать безусловную необходимость устранения первопричин кризиса, законные интересы России в области безопасности.

В контексте инициативы Президента США о введении 30-дневного перемирия – с российской стороны обозначен ряд существенных моментов, касающихся обеспечения действенного контроля за возможным прекращением огня по всей линии боевого соприкосновения, необходимости остановки принудительной мобилизации на Украине и перевооружения ВСУ. Отмечены также серьёзные риски, связанные с недоговороспособностью киевского режима, который уже неоднократно саботировал и нарушал достигнутые договорённости. Обращено внимание на варварские преступления террористического характера, совершённые украинскими боевиками против гражданского населения Курской области.

Подчёркнуто, что ключевым условием для недопущения эскалации конфликта и работы в направлении его разрешения политико-дипломатическим путём – должны стать полное прекращение иностранной военной помощи и предоставления разведывательной информации Киеву.

В связи с недавним обращением Дональда Трампа сохранить жизни окружённым в Курской области украинским военнослужащим Владимир Путин подтвердил, что российская сторона готова руководствоваться соображениями гуманитарного характера и в случае сдачи в плен гарантирует солдатам ВСУ жизнь и достойное обращение согласно российским законам и нормам международного права.

В ходе беседы Дональд Трамп выдвинул предложение о взаимном отказе сторон конфликта от ударов на 30 дней по объектам энергетической инфраструктуры. Владимир Путин положительно откликнулся на эту инициативу и сразу дал российским военным соответствующую команду.

Также конструктивно Президент России отреагировал на высказанную Дональдом Трампом идею реализации известной инициативы, касающейся безопасности судоходства в акватории Чёрного моря. Условлено начать переговоры для дополнительной проработки конкретных деталей такой договорённости.

Владимир Путин проинформировал, что 19 марта между российской и украинской сторонами будет осуществлён обмен пленными – 175 на 175 человек. Кроме того, в качестве жеста доброй воли будут переданы 23 тяжело раненых украинских военнослужащих, находящихся на излечении в российских медицинских учреждениях.

Лидеры подтвердили намерение продолжить усилия по достижению украинского урегулирования в двустороннем режиме, в том числе с учётом вышеупомянутых предложений Президента США. С этой целью создаются российская и американская экспертные группы.

Владимир Путин и Дональд Трамп затронули и другие вопросы международной повестки, включая ситуацию на Ближнем Востоке и в регионе Красного моря. Будут предприняты совместные усилия в целях стабилизации обстановки в кризисных точках, налаживания взаимодействия в вопросах ядерного нераспространения и глобальной безопасности. Это, в свою очередь, будет способствовать оздоровлению общей атмосферы российско-американских отношений. Один из позитивных примеров – солидарное голосование в ООН по резолюции в отношении украинского конфликта.

Выражена обоюдная заинтересованность в нормализации двусторонних отношений в свете особой ответственности России и США за обеспечение безопасности и стабильности в мире. В таком контексте рассматривался широкий спектр направлений, по которым наши страны могли бы наладить взаимодействие. Обсуждён ряд идей, идущих в направлении развития в перспективе взаимовыгодного сотрудничества в экономике и энергетике.

Дональд Трамп поддержал идею Владимира Путина организовать хоккейные матчи в США и России между российскими и американскими игроками, выступающими в НХЛ и КХЛ.

Президенты договорились оставаться в контакте по всем затронутым вопросам.