WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden after he claimed she was introduced to Donald Trump by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter sent by her attorney Alejandro Brito, Melania demanded Biden retract the “false, defamatory, and extremely salacious” comments. The first lady’s legal team argues the remarks, which spread quickly online and were picked up by media outlets worldwide, caused her significant financial and reputational harm.
The controversy stems from an interview Hunter Biden gave earlier this month to journalist Andrew Callaghan. In it, he alleged Epstein had played a role in introducing Melania to her now-husband.
“Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” Biden said, citing author Michael Wolff as his source. Wolff, however, has long been dismissed by Trump, who in June called him a “Third Rate Reporter” and accused him of fabricating stories to sell books.
Brito’s letter, dated August 6 and first reported by Fox News Digital on Wednesday, calls on Biden to issue a full retraction. Abbe Lowell, Biden’s lawyer and the recipient of the letter, has not yet responded publicly.
The Trumps have consistently maintained that Melania met Donald Trump in 1998 through Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, during a New York Fashion Week party.
Legal experts note that defamation lawsuits involving public figures are difficult to win, since the law requires proof of actual malice. Still, the first lady’s threat mirrors her husband’s frequent use of litigation against critics throughout his political career.
