Hank Siemers: Man Accused Of Carrying On Long-Term Affair With Melania Trump Gains Viral Infamy

Editor’s note: Recently, a story based on a source associated with Claude Taylor was debunked as a hoax by the Guardian and disavowed by Taylor. In light of this, we advise any information derived from sources provided by Claude Taylor to be viewed in the light cast by this revelation.

Hank Siemers is getting some unwanted viral attention after a bombshell — but unsubstantiated — report claimed that the head of security at Tiffanys and Co. has been having an affair with Melania Trump.

There have been rumors floating around for months about the allegedly shaky relationship between Melania and Donald Trump, including frequent reports that the two were nearing divorce. However, a new report laid out apparently lurid details of a long-term affair Melania had been having with Siemers.

To preface these allegations, none of these rumors have been substantiated in any way, and there is no hard proof of an affair between Melania Trump and Hank Siemers. There have been a number of shaky rumors following Melania ever since Donald began his campaign for president, and there is no indication if this one is true or possibly an attempt to smear the First Lady. It could also be considered a smear against Siemers, and there would be no reason to consider the reports truthful unless some concrete proof were offered.

Whatever the case may be, Siemers have garnered viral fame after playwright and novelist Monica Byrne unleashed a tweet storm alleging that Melania was having an affair. Byrne claimed that this affair is not a secret from Donald Trump and that the two had actually planned to get divorced had Trump not won in November.

Byrne did not name Hank Siemers specifically but did include a picture of him, which many others linked back to his work at Tiffany & Co.

Siemers had just been in the news a few weeks ago after being promoted to the top security post at the company, with the trade publication Loss Prevention Media noting his move.

“New York-based Tiffany & Co. recently promoted Hank Siemers, CFI to vice president of global retail security. Siemers was was previously senior director of international security & trade enforcement for the retailer. He has also held leadership roles with Barnes & Noble, Pergament Home Centers and Caldor over the course of his 27+ years in loss prevention. Siemers holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from St. John’s University.”

Siemers actually has quite the stature in the world of high-end retail security. In 2012, he was featured in a story published by the Retail Bulletin about organized crime that targets jewelry outlets.

“Groups of individuals are targeting luxury brands across the world. They are causing a distraction by confusing the sales professionals in the stores. They’ll distract them so much that they’ll walk out [with the jewellery] without the member of staff even knowing about it for some days. It’s gut-wrenching,” he shared at the time.

The timing of Byrne’s allegations could be questionable. Her tweets came just a day after Melania Trump issued an angry but measured response to comedian Kathy Griffin’s picture showing her holding a bloody replica of Donald Trump’s head. Though there was widespread consensus that Griffin’s photo shoot was beyond the pale, Melania Trump’s criticism also left her vulnerable to attacks on Donald Trump, whom himself embraced singer Ted Nugent even after Nugent’s violent threats against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

First lady Melania Trump calls Kathy Griffin's photo "very disturbing"; "makes you wonder about the mental health of the person who did it." pic.twitter.com/tfVh7OI7Ua

— ABC News (@ABC) May 31, 2017

As outlets picked up the allegations of Melania Trump’s affair, many people also shared pictures of Hank Siemers online, and his name was a trending term on Twitter in the hours after the allegations were leveled.

Aside from bringing Hank Siemers to viral fame, Byrne also reiterated a rumor circulating for the past couple of weeks that Donald and Melania Trump had already negotiated the terms of their divorce before Election Day. A report from Claude Taylor, an independent journalist who has been sharing inside information about Trump’s Russia investigation, claimed that many journalists are familiar with the story about the planned divorce but have not made the details public.

I was told this by a reputable journalist. They said the papers were signed but not filed. That's the sum of my information on this. https://t.co/hbvWYgA16J

— Claude Taylor (@TrueFactsStated) May 22, 2017

However, like the story about Melania Trump’s alleged affair with Hank Siemers, the divorce story has no independent corroboration and remains a rumor at best. For her part, the First Lady has not responded to the rumors of her alleged affair.

[Featured Image by Olivier Douliery – Pool/Getty Images]