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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
4 hours ago
- Perth Now
Hezbollah warns disarmament plan could spark civil war
Hezbollah has raised the spectre of civil war with a warning there will be "no life" in Lebanon if the government seeks to confront or eliminate the Iran-backed group. The government wants to control arms in line with a US-backed plan following Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah, which was founded four decades ago with the backing of Tehran's Revolutionary Guards. But the group is resisting pressure to disarm, saying that cannot happen until Israel ends its strikes and occupation of a southern strip of Lebanon that had been a Hezbollah stronghold. "This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together - or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us," its leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Friday. 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.
AU Financial Review
6 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Ex-Republican party leader warns about Trump's destruction of trust
Donald Trump has permanently changed how countries will engage with the US in the future even after he departs the White House thanks to the loss of trust in America he has brought about, a former head of the Republican Party has warned. Michael Steele, who made history as the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2011, also said a first meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was key to helping smooth out issues in the bilateral relationship over trade and defence spending.
Sky News AU
6 hours ago
- Sky News AU
'His wildest dream': Vladimir Putin aiming to ‘split' Zelensky and Trump and end war on Russia's terms as pair meet in Alaska
Vladimir Putin is seeking to 'split' Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump as the Russian and US President meet on American soil in Alaska on Friday. The White House said the meeting will take place at 11 am Alaska time (1900 GMT). While the likelihood of a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine remains uncertain, a last-gasp offer from Putin of a possible nuclear deal could help both he and Trump save face. Speaking to Sky News Australia, Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge said there were 'two big things' Putin had already gained from Trump. 'The first thing he wanted was to pause Trump's sanctions on Russian oil. He's achieved that,' Mr Shoebridge told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'The second thing he wanted was a face-to-face meeting with the American president on American soil because that's an enormous propaganda coup for him.' However, Mr Shoebridge said what Putin really wanted was to undermine Trump's relationship with Ukraine even more, having done so already, leading to the infamous Oval Office stoush earlier this year. 'What he'd love to do is split Trump and Zelensky again, and he knows he can because he's done it before. And he really wants to talk about everything but the war, particularly big business deals between Russia and America,' Mr Shoebridge said. 'His wildest dream is to get Trump to help him end the war on Russian terms. So, Putin's very clear what he wants.' The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska will be their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House and comes amid Ukrainian and European fears that Trump might sell out Kyiv. Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, said on Thursday the three-and-a-half-year conflict had proven a tougher nut to crack than he had thought. He said if his talks with Putin went well, setting up a subsequent three-way summit with Zelensky - who was not invited to Friday's meeting - would be even more important than his encounter with Putin. 'I think the good news is Donald Trump is a bit clearer going into this than we might have expected a week ago, because he spent the week caucusing with European leaders and with President Zelensky of Ukraine,' Mr Shoebridge said. 'He didn't do that before he met Putin last time. But yes, the risk is Trump gives away too much to try and get a deal. And that risks handing Russia a victory that no aggressor should be receiving.' Mr Shoebridge said the best outcome of the talks would be a broader ceasefire that starts 'almost immediately' to allow 'real negotiations' to begin. He said he did not see that as a 'likely outcome'. Trump is pressing for a truce to bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, something he has made clear is important to him. Putin, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its straitjacket of ever-tightening Western sanctions, or at the very least not to hit Moscow with more sanctions, something Trump has threatened. The day before the summit, the Kremlin leader held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. -with Reuters
