Senior Pentagon official had affair with ‘notorious’ astrologer who stalked him, lawsuit says

A senior Pentagon official in Donald Trump’s administration had a months-long extramarital affair with a woman claiming to be “the internet’s most notorious astrologer” – and claims in a defamation lawsuit filed in Florida that she cyberstalked him and his wife after they split up.

Court papers in Palm Beach county allege that Amy Tripp, known as Starheal to her tens of thousands of social media followers, was so upset by the end of the relationship that she repeatedly threatened and harassed the victim, identified as Anthony Tata, who assumed office as the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness in July.

Tata – a 65-year-old former Fox News contributor, retired army brigadier general and author of a series of military-themed novels – has previously made numerous Islamophobic and inflammatory comments, including calling Barack Obama a “terrorist leader”.

The 17-page lawsuit, reported by The Cut, reveals intimate details of his affair with Tripp, who correctly foresaw the date on which Joe Biden would drop out of the 2024 presidential race that Trump won. She subsequently predicted that Kamala Harris would become California governor. Harris announced in July she would not seek the office.

The lawsuit, seen by the Guardian, claims the pair met on the dating app Bumble in April 2024 when Tata was seeking advice for a book he was writing with astrological elements. It said Tata “was having trouble in his marriage” at the time – and frames their subsequent trysts as “a casual sexual relationship as well as a professional relationship regarding the astrology business”.

The affair ended, it said, shortly before Tata was confirmed by the US Senate to his new role on 15 July. The lawsuit identifies the plaintiff only as “John Doe”, but Tata’s was the only defense department confirmation on that date, and the document also makes reference to his work as a novelist.

Tripp, it said, took the breakup badly and began a campaign of harassment that featured hundreds of calls and text messages to Tata and his wife. “During these conversations, Ms Tripp threatened that she would ‘beat the shit’ out of John Doe’s wife, that she was going to ruin both of John Doe and John Doe’s wife’s lives, and that they needed to ‘watch our backs’,” the lawsuit said.

In another message, after Tata’s wife pleaded to be left alone, Tripp is said to have told Tata in a message: “If your wife texts me again she’s going to be picking her teeth up. Pass it on.”

The document alleges Tripp wanted $25,000 to keep the affair quiet, and threatened to accuse him publicly of an unspecified crime.

“She threatened his marriage, threatened to and did publicly defame him to his new employer and high-ranking Senate officials, and intentionally caused him emotional distress by putting him in the Hobson’s choice between his reputation or career and his marriage,” the lawsuit states.

The Guardian has contacted the defense department for comment. Lawyers for the plaintiff, contacted by The Cut, said they would not confirm or deny whether Tata was their client.

A representative for the defendant told the outlet: “Ms Tripp strenuously denies the allegations in the complaint and trusts that the process will fully vindicate her.”

Trump nominated Tata to serve as undersecretary of defense for policy during his first presidency in April 2020, but his confirmation hearing was canceled when allegations of his past comments surfaced.

He became “senior official performing the duties” of the role in November 2020 and resigned two months later, five days before Joe Biden entered the White House.

According to an investigation first published by the Raleigh News & Observer in 2015, Tata, who served in the army for 28 years, had at least two affairs during his time in uniform, a court martial offense, and forged a court document.

The Cut said he was granted a restraining order against Tripp in Palm Beach county in recent weeks under his own name.