WASHINGTON — Tensions flared Thursday as Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, sharply rebuffed demands from First Lady Melania Trump to retract claims tying her to the late Jeffrey Epstein. The dispute, which erupted after Biden’s remarks last month on YouTube host Andrew Callaghan’s program, centers on his assertion that Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in 2019, introduced Melania to then businessman Donald Trump. Melania’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, labeled the claim “extremely salacious” in a letter reviewed by ABC News, threatening a billion-dollar lawsuit for “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
Appearing again on Callaghan’s show Thursday, Biden doubled down. “F— that, that’s not going to happen,” he declared when pressed to apologize. Citing Michael Wolff’s book, Biden noted Epstein and Trump “knew each other well, they spent an enormous amount of time together.” President Trump has dismissed Wolff as a “third rate reporter,” while The Daily Beast, which reported similar claims, retracted its story and apologized after receiving a similar legal warning from Melania’s team.
Biden, undeterred, challenged the Trumps to a deposition to clarify Epstein’s role, offering his platform for discussion. “I only can go by what people are saying, I don’t know,” he told Callaghan. In response, Melania’s spokesperson, Nick Clemens, told ABC News that her legal team is “actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies” for “malicious, defamatory falsehoods.” Melania’s memoir, Melania, details her meeting Trump at a 1998 Fashion Week party through a modeling agent, contradicting Biden’s narrative.
This clash adds to Hunter Biden’s legal entanglements, following his pardon by his father before sentencing in two criminal cases. He’s also pursuing defamation lawsuits, including one against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne set for trial this fall.
Source: ABC News
