Biden referenced Epstein during a wide-ranging interview where he criticized “elites” and other figures in the Democratic Party, whom he claims undermined his father’s efforts.
WASHINGTON — First Lady Melania Trump insisted on a retraction from Hunter Biden following his comments associating her with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, warning of legal action if he doesn’t comply.
Trump disputes two statements made by Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, in an interview this month with American journalist Andrew Callaghan. Biden claimed that Epstein played a role in introducing the First Lady to now-President Donald Trump.
These assertions, declared as false and defamatory by Melania Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, in a letter to Biden, are described as “extremely salacious.” The comments circulated widely on social media and were reported globally, leading to what Brito described as “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” for the First Lady.
Biden’s interview included allegations against Epstein while criticizing “elites” and Democratic Party members who, he claims, hindered his father’s efforts before he withdrew from the previous year’s presidential race.
Among Biden’s disputed comments was, “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.” He credited this claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Trump criticized in June as a “Third Rate Reporter,” accusing Wolff of fabricating stories for book sales.
The first lady’s threats echo a favored strategy of her husband, who has aggressively used litigation to go after critics. Public figures like the Trumps face a high bar to succeed in a defamation lawsuit.
The president and first lady have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.
The letter is dated Aug. 6 and was first reported Wednesday by Fox News Digital.
Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Biden in his criminal cases and to whom Brito’s letter is addressed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Wednesday.
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