Melania Trump suspects Roger Stone, her husband’s longtime ally and former adviser, of leaking nude photos from her modelling past, a new book will claim.

But the first lady “still refuses to believe” the US president had any involvement in the release of the pictures, according to Free, Melania, written by CNN correspondent Kate Bennett.

The images, taken during a 1996 photoshoot and published the next year in a French men’s magazine, resurfaced in the New York Post during the 2016 US presidential election campaign. At the time, Mr Trump was embroiled in a high-profile row with the family of Humayun Khan, a US soldier killed in Iraq.

“The theory goes … that Trump was trying to head off a bad week on the campaign,” Ms Bennett writes in the book, seen in advance of publication by The Guardian.

Mr Stone had no formal role with the Trump campaign at the time but remained close to the Republican candidate, who is known for his apparent attempts to distract the media from negative stories.

Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Show all 15 1 /15 Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Pre-flight Melania wears a calf-skimming shirt dress by Gucci before departing the White House in Washington DC. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Pre-flight The cream, orange and green gown was covered in prints depicting London landmarks including the Tower of London and Big Ben. Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania arrived at London's Stansted airport wearing a navy-blue skirt suit paired with a printed pussy-bow blouse by British heritage brand Burberry. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania accessorised her post-flight look with a pair of oversized sunglasses. EPA Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania arrived at Buckingham Palace later that day to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Here she is pictured standing alongside HRH and her husband during a welcome ceremony. She wore a fitted white dress by Italian label Dolce and Gabbana. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Both the Duchess and Melania struggled to hold onto their hats during the ceremony. Melania's opted for a large wide-brimmed hat by American fashion designer, Hervé Pierre. The Duchess wore a cream by Irish milliner Philip Treacy. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 At the Palace, the Trumps also met with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, who was wearing a light-coloured ensemble by Anna Valentine. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania's hat matched the navy trim of her dress. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 For the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace that evening, Melania made a sartorial statement in custom Dior haute couture. The ivory-coloured sleeveless gown boasted a flame-shaped neckline. The first lady accessorised the look with matching ivory gloves and diamond earrings. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 For the presidential meeting between Theresa May and her husband Philip May, Melania wore a belted beige trench dress by CELINE. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 Melania also wore stiletto black heels and carried a crocodile Birkin bag by Hermès. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 On Tuesday evening, the US president and first lady hosted a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador. Melania wore a £5,000 floor-length red Givenchy gown for the occasion, complete with a cape design. PA Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 The bold Givenchy dress featured a red sequinned v-shaped neckline. Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 3 On the third day of the UK state visit, Melania and Donald Trump attended a ceremony in Portsmouth in honour of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The first lady of the US dressed in an all-white ensemble for the occasion, wearing an ivory coat by New York-based brand The Row and accessorising with a wide-brim fascinator by Philip Treacy. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 3 The US first lady completed her look with a pair of nude Dior heels. REUTERS

The Independent has approached Mr Stone and the White House for comment but neither had responded at the time of publication.

Mr Stone is facing prison after being convicted last month of obstruction, witness tampering, and lying to congress about his contact with Wikileaks during the presidential campaign.

Ms Bennett’s book also sheds new light on the Trumps’ living quarters in the White House, where it has previously been reported the couple have separate bedrooms.

According to an edited extract from Free, Melania published by CNN, the first lady “prefers her own large, private space in a suite of rooms on a separate floor”.

Ms Trump reportedly has a two-room private chamber formerly occupied by Michelle Obama’s mother, as well as a “glam room” where she does her hair and make-up and a private gym.

Ms Bennett paints Ms Trump as “powerful and influential” in the White House, often weighing in on her husband’s decisions “both politically and in the way he manages his staff”.

“She has frequent, opinionated discussions with him, oftentimes more than once a day, via telephone,” the author writes.

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But the first lady has also been “let down” by her husband’s appointment of “a skeleton staff of political neophytes”, the book argues, blaming Ms Trump’s aides for a 2016 speech which appeared to be plagiarised from a talk given by her predecessor Michelle Obama.

Ms Trump was “beside herself with guilt” following the speech she gave at the Republican National Convention which contained glaring similarities to Ms Obama’s address eight years earlier, Ms Bennett said.

The first lady’s speechwriter was a “Trump Organisation staffer hardly versed in the ways of political campaign speeches,” she added, and Ms Trump “felt she had let down her husband on what should have been her most triumphant speaking engagement to date”.

The book also suggests there is tension between Ms Trump and her husband’s daughter Ivanka, describing “cracks in the facade of the sunny ties between the two women closest and most influential to the president”.

“The unprecedented nature of a first daughter involved in some of the similar activities usually relegated to a first lady has caused drama,” writes Ms Bennett, who covers the first lady and the Trump family in her role for CNN.