Melania Trump is demanding that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — and she’s threatening to sue if he doesn’t.
The dispute began earlier this month, when Biden, the son of former president Joe Biden, claimed in an interview that Epstein had introduced Melania to Donald Trump. Melania’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, called the statements “false, defamatory and extremely salacious” in a letter to Biden.
Brito said Biden’s remarks, which spread quickly on social media and were picked up by outlets around the world, caused the first lady “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.” He argued that the comments had no basis in fact and demanded a full retraction.
Biden made the claim during a wide-ranging conversation with journalist Andrew Callaghan, in which he criticized “elites” and members of the Democratic Party he believes undermined his father’s political standing before his withdrawal from last year’s presidential race. “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” Biden said at one point, attributing the claim to author Michael Wolff. Donald Trump has accused Wolff in the past of fabricating stories to sell books.
When pressed by Callaghan in a follow-up interview this week on whether he planned to apologize, Biden refused. “Uh, **** that, not going to happen,” he said, speaking from a vacation location. He insisted his comments came from “what I have heard and seen reported and written” — primarily by Wolff, but also in coverage from outlets including The New York Times and Vanity Fair.
The Trumps have consistently said they were introduced in 1998 by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York fashion week party — not by Epstein.
Melania’s threat mirrors a legal tactic long favored by her husband, who has repeatedly turned to the courts to confront critics. But defamation suits from public figures face a high legal bar in the United States, requiring proof that false statements were made with “actual malice” — knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
The letter from Brito, dated August 6, was first reported by Fox News Digital on Wednesday. It leaves Biden with a choice: retract his comments or risk a court fight that would put both sides’ claims under intense public scrutiny.
For now, neither side appears inclined to back down. Melania Trump is standing firm on her demand, and Hunter Biden is standing just as firmly by his words — setting the stage for a very public and potentially bruising dispute.
