Judge lashes Trump for fooling public over Epstein files
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer said in a written decision on Monday (Tuesday AEST) that federal law almost never allows for the release of grand jury materials and that making the documents public casually was a bad idea.
AP
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9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
Melania Trump threatens to sue Hunter Biden over Epstein claim
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Melania and Donald Trump have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli. First lady Melania Trump demanded that Hunter Biden retract comments linking her to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and threatened to sue for US$1billion if he does not. Trump takes issue with two comments Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, made in an interview this month with British journalist Andrew Callaghan. 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. 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. Hunter Biden is the son of former President Joe Biden. (AP) Biden made the Epstein comments during a sprawling interview in which he lashed out at "elites" and others in the Democratic Party he says undermined his father before he 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 comments Trump disputes. Biden attributed the claim to author Michael Wolff, whom Trump disparaged in June as a "Third Rate Reporter." He has accused Wolff of making up stories to sell books. The first lady's threats echo a favoured strategy of her husband, who has aggressively used litigation to go after critics. Public figures like the Trumps face a high bar to succeed in a defamation lawsuit. Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at a Victoria's Secret Angels event in 1997. (Getty) The president and first lady have long said they were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent, at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. The letter is dated August 6 and was first reported Wednesday by Fox News Digital. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer who has represented Biden in his criminal cases and to whom Brito's letter is addressed, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeffrey Epstein Donald Trump Melania Trump CONTACT US
Sky News AU
5 hours ago
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Bill Clinton humiliated after being named ‘prime suspect' in explosive Jeffrey Epstein probe
Former US President Bill Clinton has been named the 'prime suspect' for the House Oversight Committee's investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer confirmed Clinton's importance to the probe during an interview with Newsmax. 'Everybody in America wants to know what went on in Epstein Island, and we've all heard reports that Bill Clinton was a frequent visitor there, so he's a prime suspect to be deposed by the House Oversight Committee,' Comer said. On August 5, the oversight committee sent out a batch of deposition orders to anyone who had ties with Epstein, including former first lady Hillary Clinton. Democrats joined Republicans in voting to move forward with the subpoenas, with Hillary to appear on October 9 and Bill on October 14.
ABC News
7 hours ago
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Melania Trump sues Hunter Biden for over $US1 billion over 'defamatory' Epstein comments
Melania Trump has demanded Hunter Biden "retract the false, defamatory, and lewd" statements he made about her that referenced her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Fox News has reported. Lawyers for the first lady of the United States said if Mr Biden fails to retract his statements, she will seek over $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) in damages. The notice letter has been sent to Mr Biden and his lawyers, and states that failure to comply will see Ms Trump to pursue "remedies available to her to recover the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that you have caused her to suffer". The statements were made in a YouTube interview Mr Biden did on Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan's broadcast titled Hunter Biden Returns. In the interview, Mr Biden also launched a scathing attack against George Clooney and said his father's poor showing during the US presidential debate in 2024 was due to taking Ambien. Alejandro Brito, a lawyer serving as litigation counsel, alleged in the notice that there were two defamatory comments made. Those comments were: a. "Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep." b. "Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania, that's how Melania and the First Lady and the President met. Really? Epstein made the intro? Yeah, according to Michael Wolff." The notice gave Mr Biden until August 7, 2025, to respond or comply, saying "you are on notice". A source close to the matter told Fox News Digital the former US president's son did not comply with the requests. In the issue notice, Mr Brito said Mr Biden has a "vast history of trading on the names of others — including your surname — for your personal benefit". "The above-referenced false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory statements were published to deliberately denigrate Mrs Trump," the notice said. "The timing of this video is evident and underscores the actual malice behind the decision to publish it given the plain falsity of the statements. As well as asking for "a full and fair retraction of the video", Ms Trump's lawyers want Mr Biden to apologise. The letter claims Mr Biden's "source" for the statements was "serial fabulist Michael Wolff" — a journalist who has had work published in The Daily Beast. His article titled Melania Trump 'Very Involved' in Epstein Scandal was the target of a separate cease and desist letter from Ms Trump's legal team. Mr Brito said "following receipt of our cease-and-desist demand letter just a week ago, The Daily Beast issued an apology to Mrs Trump and retracted the false and defamatory statements contained in the Article by deleting it in its entirety". Ms Trump's lawyers say that means Mr Biden has "unjustifiably relied upon Mr Wolff's false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about Mrs Trump and maliciously elected to republish them". Communications director for Ms Trump, Nick Clemens, told Fox News that she is going after anyone who makes similar claims about her and Epstein. "First Lady Melania Trump's attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods," he said.
