Hunter Biden dismissed a $1 billion defamation threat over comments he made about first lady Melania Trump‘s connections to Jeffrey Epstein and declined to apologize as her lawyers had demanded.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration continues to face renewed scrutiny over its handling of matters related to Epstein, following the Department of Justice‘s decision last month not to release additional records tied to Epstein. That decision contradicted earlier pledges by senior officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, to make the so-called “Epstein files” public.
The controversy has resurfaced questions about President Trump’s past ties to Epstein, which have been widely reported but remain politically sensitive. Hunter Biden‘s recent comments have added fuel to the debate, drawing attention to unresolved questions about the nature of Trump’s relationship with Epstein and the circumstances surrounding his introduction to Melania Trump.
L: Hunter Biden at the White House on January 4, 2025. R: First lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025.
L: Hunter Biden at the White House on January 4, 2025. R: First lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025.
Tom Brenner/Samuel Corum/Getty Images
What To Know
In a video interview posted to YouTube earlier this month, Biden said that Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump, a statement her legal team calls “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory.” The letter, dated August 6, demands a full retraction and apology, or Biden will face a $1 billion lawsuit.
Biden responded in a follow-up interview released Thursday on Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, saying, “F*** that, that’s not going to happen,” and dismissed the legal threat as a distraction.
In the original interview, Biden said, “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” attributing the statement to journalist Michael Wolff. Trump has previously accused Wolff of fabricating stories to sell books.
Attorney Alejandro Brito issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding Biden retract the statements and apologize. The letter warns that failure to comply would result in legal action seeking over $1 billion in damages for reputational harm.
The letter gave Biden until August 7 to respond. Sources close to the matter told Fox News that Biden did not comply and instead leaked the letter to a journalist, which Melania’s team interpreted as a sign of concern over liability.
The Trumps have long stated they met through modeling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. This version contradicts Biden’s claim and has been consistently repeated by the couple.
In a second Channel 5 interview that aired Thursday, Biden refused to apologize, saying, “What I said is what I have heard and seen reported and written, primarily from Wolff.” He called the lawsuit threat “a distraction” and accused the Trumps of using bullying tactics.
What People Are Saying
Hunter Biden, when given the opportunity to apologize to first lady Melania Trump: “F*** that. That’s not going to happen.”
He also said: “What I said was what I have heard and seen reported and written, primarily from Michael Wolff, but also dating back all the way to 2019 when The New York Times, I think, Annie Carney and Maggie Haberman reported that sources said that Jeffrey Epstein claimed to be the person to introduce Donald Trump to Melania at that time.
“And then I think excerpted in a book that was published in Vanity Fair, and I think it’s been repeated by journalists and authors since then. But the primary source was the interviews that Michael Wolff has been conducting, in which he has, actually, tapes of I think hours and hours of interviews with Jeffrey Epstein. So, you know, fact of the matter is that, you know, I don’t think that these threats of a lawsuit add up to anything other than a design destruction because it’s not about who introduced whom to who. I don’t know how that in any way rises to the level of defamation to begin with.”
Attorney Alejandro Brito, in his notice to Hunter Biden and his attorney: “These false, disparaging, defamatory, and inflammatory statements are extremely salacious and have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums. Indeed, 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.”
He added: “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.”
What Happens Next
If Melania Trump proceeds with the lawsuit, the case could test the limits of defamation law involving high-profile individuals.
Correction 8/14/25, 9:52 a.m. ET: Michael Wolff’s name was spelled incorrectly in an earlier version of this article.