First lady Melania Trump is reportedly demanding Hunter Biden retract comments he made about her connection to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, threatening legal action if he doesn’t.
Trump is taking issue with two comments Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, made during a recent interview with journalist Andrew Callaghan. Biden alleged that Epstein introduced the first lady to then-businessman Donald Trump, a claim that has drawn the ire of Melania’s legal team.
Melania’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, wasted no time in sending a cease-and-desist letter to Biden, calling the statements false, defamatory, and “extremely salacious.” The lawyer claims that Biden’s remarks have caused the first lady “overwhelming financial and reputational harm,” as the allegations spread widely on social media and were reported by news outlets across the globe.
The comments came during an extensive interview where Biden took aim at “elites” and other Democratic figures he blames for sabotaging his father’s political career, before dropping out of last year’s presidential race. One of Biden’s most controversial claims was that Epstein had introduced Melania to Trump, adding that “the connections are, like, so wide and deep.”
Biden attributed these claims to Michael Wolff, an author Melania Trump has long criticized as a “Third Rate Reporter,” accusing him of fabricating stories to make money off of books.
Melania’s threats to sue are in line with her husband’s approach to handling criticism, with both Trumps often resorting to litigation to go after their critics. However, public figures like the Trumps face a significant legal challenge in defamation cases, as the bar for success is high.
The first lady and president have long maintained that they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998, refuting any connection to Epstein.
The letter, which was dated August 6, was first reported by Fox News Digital on Wednesday. Abbe Lowell, the attorney who represents Biden in his criminal cases, has yet to respond to the request for comment as of late Wednesday.