Hunter Biden has refused to apologise to First Lady Melania Trump after she threatened him with legal action for 'over $1bn in damages' unless he retracted comments linking her to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In a new interview with British journalist Andrew Callaghan, Biden responded bluntly: 'F*** that! That's not going to happen.'
Biden, son of former president Joe Biden, stood by his claim that Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump in the late 1990s, attributing the information to journalist Michael Wolff and reports from The New York Times. He dismissed the lawsuit threat as 'a designed distraction' and questioned how the statement could rise to the level of defamation.
Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, sent a letter dated August 6 demanding a retraction and apology, accusing Biden of causing 'overwhelming financial and reputational harm' with 'extremely salacious' false statements. The letter also cited Biden's 'vast history of trading on the names of others.'
Biden made the comments in a July YouTube interview, also criticising 'elites' like George Clooney and revealing that his father was on Ambien during a disastrous debate against Trump. The Trumps have long maintained they were introduced by modelling agent Paolo Zampolli in 1998.
President Trump, who has faced questions about his past friendship with Epstein, is currently suing The Wall Street Journal over a report about a 'bawdy' doodle he sent Epstein. The Justice Department has ruled that Epstein left no 'client list' and died by suicide in 2019, a verdict that continues to fuel conspiracy theories among Trump supporters.
