Melania Trump threatens Hunter Biden with $1.5b lawsuit over ‘salacious' Epstein claim
Trump has taken issue with comments Biden – son of former president Joe – made in an interview last month with American journalist Andrew Callaghan, in which he alleged that Epstein introduced the first lady to now-President Donald Trump.
The statements are false, defamatory and 'extremely salacious,' Melania Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, wrote in a letter to Biden, dated August 6.
Biden's remarks were widely disseminated on social media and reported by media outlets around the world, causing the first lady 'to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm,' he wrote.
In the sprawling interview, Biden also lashed out at 'elites' and others in the Democratic Party he said undermined his father before the senior Biden dropped out of last year's presidential campaign.
'Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,' Biden said in one of the disputed comments.
Biden attributed the claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Donald Trump disparaged in June as a 'Third Rate Reporter' who made up stories to sell books.
On Thursday, Washington time, the US president publicly pushed back on Biden's claim, saying he met his wife through 'another person', the London Telegraph reported.

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"There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants," Qassem said. "But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice ... At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy." The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shi'ite ministers to cabinet and holding the Shi'ite seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a "blocking third" of cabinet, enabling them to veto government decisions in the past. 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Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in the past two years, killing many of its top brass including former leader Hassan Nasrallah and 5000 of its fighters, and destroying much of its arsenal. The Lebanese cabinet last week tasked the army with confining weapons only to state security forces, a move that has outraged Hezbollah. Qassem accused the government of implementing an "American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife". However, he said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi'ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests while there was still scope for talks. "There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants," Qassem said. "But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice ... At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy." The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war. Hezbollah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shi'ite ministers to cabinet and holding the Shi'ite seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a "blocking third" of cabinet, enabling them to veto government decisions in the past. Hezbollah retains strong support among the Shi'ite community in Lebanon, but calls for its disarmament across the rest of society have grown.