He attributed the allegations to journalist Michael Wolff, who’d previously authored a critical biography about the Republican president. In June, the president called Wolff a ‘third-rate reporter’ and accused him of making up stories to sell books (via The Independent).
The extraordinary claims led the First Lady to initiate legal action against Biden and the publication, through her attorney, Alejandro Brito.
According to an update from Fox News, Brito sent lawyer Abbe Lowell, who has previously represented Biden, a letter, saying his claims were ‘false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory’ and urged them to be retracted immediately.
“The video has since been re-published by various media outlets, journalists, and political commentators with millions of social media followers that have disseminated the false and defamatory statements therein to tens of millions of people worldwide,” reads Brito’s letter.
“Consequently, you have caused Mrs. Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
The letter goes on to demand that the 55-year-old also apologise to Trump, or face a $1 billion (£736 million) lawsuit.
“Failure to comply will leave Mrs. Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer,” the letter added.
Biden’s claims about the Trumps and Epstein were made in the hour-long interview ‘Hunter Biden returns’ and cited a 26 July podcast from The Daily Beast, where Wolff alleged that ‘Epstein knows her [Melania] well’.
The Daily Beast has since taken down an article including Wolff’s claims and issued an apology to the First Lady.
“After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article,” read an editor’s note (via New York Post).
“After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologises for any confusion or misunderstanding.”
LADbible Group has contacted Hunter Biden’s attorney for comment.
How did Donald Trump and Melania meet?
Melania and Donald Trump photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
According to her 2024 memoir, Melania – then Melania Knauss, which is an alternate spelling of her birth name Melanija Knavs – first met her husband at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.
It was previously reported that the pair were introduced by modelling agent Paolo Zampolli (as per Today).
According to comments made by Melania to Harper’s Bazaar in 2016, Trump had asked for her number at the event, despite being in attendance with another woman.
Meanwhile, Trump was linked to Epstein throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, with Donald and Melania even being photographed with Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell at one point.