Melania Trump Demands Hunter Biden Retract Baseless Epstein Smear or Face $1 Billion Suit

First Lady Melania Trump's attorneys have demanded Hunter Biden immediately retract and apologize for his false claim that Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to President Trump, threatening a $1 billion defamation lawsuit if he refuses. In a letter dated August 6 to Biden and his lawyer Abbe Lowell, counsel Alejandro Brito labeled the statements "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory," warning of overwhelming financial and reputational harm.

Biden made the allegation in an early August interview with Channel 5 host Andrew Callaghan, titled "Hunter Biden Returns," asserting, "Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep," and repeating, "Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, and that’s how Melania and the first lady and the President met." This follows a retraction by The Daily Beast of a similar story earlier this month after publishing Michael Wolff's claim of an Epstein-Trump-Melania link, prompting an apology and article deletion upon legal challenge.

In reality, President Trump and Melania met at a 1998 New York Fashion Week party hosted by modeling agent Paolo Zampolli. Trump spotted Melania Knauss and requested her number. She initially declined, giving him her friend's contact instead, but he tracked her down through her modeling agency. In an interview Melania noted, "He was very determined". It took time and his consistent effort before she accepted his invitation to dinner, marking the start of their relationship which lead to their marriage in 2005, and son Barron in 2006.

Hunter Biden's history includes numerous outlandish statements. In a July 2025 podcast, he unleashed profanity-laced tirades against George Clooney and Obama allies for urging his father to exit the 2024 race, calling them "f—king elites" and accusing them of betrayal. He ranted about Trump deportations as a "f—ing crime," labeled Trump a "f—king dictator thug," and bizarrely claimed white men commit 45 times more violent crimes than immigrants, while raging against Democrats for pandering to "Trumpian" white voters. His memoir and laptop revelations detailed wild escapades, including crack-fueled paranoia and unfounded boasts of intelligence.