Hunter Biden said he won't apologize to Melania Trump amid lawsuit threat
The big picture: The first lady's lawyers demanded that the son of former President Biden remove and retract commentary about her made in a separate Callaghan interview earlier this month, including his assertion that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "introduced Melania" to President Trump.
"F--- that," Biden said in the Thursday video. "That's not going to happen."
Driving the news: The first lady's attorney Alejandro Brito said in an Aug. 6 letter that Biden's commentary in an Aug. 5 YouTube interview with Callaghan was "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory" and threatened legal action, Fox News Digital first reported.
In the Aug. 5 video, Biden said the connections between Epstein and the Trumps "are like, so wide and deep."
In the Thursday follow-up video, Biden said, "I don't believe in guilt by association alone, but the connections that are so glaringly obvious that I think they're trying to use other things to distract."
Zoom out: Brito threatened to file a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages if Biden did not issue a "full and fair retraction of the video" and disparaging or misleading statements.
Brito said Biden's source was Michael Wolff, "whose lies were published by The Daily Beast in the article titled 'Melania Trump 'very involved' in Epstein Scandal: Author.'" Axios was unable to reach Wolff for comment.
After receiving a cease-and-desist demand letter a week ago, The Daily Beast issued an apology to the first lady and " retracted the false and defamatory statements contained in the article by deleting it in its entirety," Brito wrote.
"Despite this, you have unjustifiably relied upon Mr. Wolff's false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump and maliciously elected to republish them," Brito wrote.
The other side: Biden said Thursday that he thinks President Trump and Melania Trump are "bullies" and they believe the potential lawsuit "is going to scare me."
The former president's son said he'd welcome a deposition where the Trumps can clarify the nature of their relationship with Epstein.
"I'm more than happy to provide them the platform to be able to do that," he said.
Zoom in: Nick Clemens, aide to the first lady, said in an emailed statement Wednesday evening that her attorneys were "actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods."
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