Former First Lady Melania Trump is threatening legal action against Hunter Biden, seeking damages exceeding $1 billion, following his assertion that she was introduced to her husband by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attorneys representing Mrs. Trump, who married Donald Trump in 2005, have characterized Mr. Biden’s statement as “false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory.”
Mr. Biden, son of former U.S. President Joe Biden, made the remarks during a recent interview. He defended his statements on Thursday, signaling a reluctance to retract them despite the threat of legal repercussions.
While Donald Trump maintained a friendship with Epstein, he has stated that they severed ties in the early 2000s due to a dispute over employees at the spa within Mr. Trump’s Florida golf club.
A legal letter addressed to Hunter Biden’s attorney demands a retraction and apology, or else face a lawsuit seeking “over $1 billion in damages,” alleging that Mrs. Trump has suffered “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” as a result of the claim.
The letter further accuses Mr. Biden of a “vast history of trading on the names of others,” and repeating the claim “to draw attention to yourself.”
In an interview with filmmaker Andrew Callaghan, Hunter Biden claimed that unreleased documents pertaining to Epstein would “implicate” President Trump.
He stated: “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump – the connections are so wide and deep.” The legal letter highlights that the claim was partially attributed to Michael Wolff, author of a critical biography of the former president.
Wolff reportedly claimed in an interview with The Daily Beast that the former First Lady was known to an associate of Epstein and Trump when she met her now-husband.
The Daily Beast subsequently retracted the story after receiving a letter from Mrs. Trump’s attorney challenging the content and framing of the article.
When questioned about the possibility of an apology during an interview on the YouTube show Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, Mr. Biden stated: “not going to happen.”
Mr. Biden further commented that he did not think “these threats of a lawsuit add up to anything other than a designed distraction,” and that if the lawsuit proceeds, he would welcome the opportunity to depose both Trumps, stating he was “more than happy to provide them the platform.”
There is no corroborated evidence suggesting that the Trumps were introduced by Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.
The legal letter accuses Hunter Biden of relying on a since-removed article as the basis for his claims, which it describes as “false and defamatory.”
An archived version of The Daily Beast article carries a message stating: “After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding.”
When asked about the legal threat, Mrs. Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, directed BBC News to a statement issued by her aide, Nick Clemens.
The statement reads: “First Lady Melania Trump’s attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods.”
A January 2016 profile by Harper’s Bazaar reported that Mrs. Trump met her husband in November 1998, at a party hosted by the founder of a modelling agency.
Melania Trump, 55, told the publication she declined to give him her phone number because he was “with a date.”
The profile noted that Trump had recently separated from his second wife, Marla Maples, whom he divorced in 1999. He was previously married to Ivana Trump between 1977 and 1990.
The BBC has contacted Hunter Biden’s attorney for comment.
The legal letter follows weeks of mounting pressure on the White House to release the so-called Epstein files, previously undisclosed documents pertaining to the criminal investigation against the convicted sex offender.
Prior to his re-election, Trump stated that he would release the records if he returned to office, however, the FBI and Justice Department stated in July that no “incriminating” client list of Epstein associates existed.
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