The wife of US President Donald Trump, Melania Trump, has threatened to sue the son of former head of state Hunter Biden for $1 billion for defamation in connection with the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was linked to the sexual abuse of minors, according to a letter from the first lady’s lawyer.
Lawyers representing the first lady, who married US President Donald Trump in 2005, called the statement “false, humiliating, defamatory and inflammatory.”
Biden, the son of former US President Joe Biden, made the comments in an interview earlier this month in which he sharply criticised the president’s past ties to Epstein.
Donald Trump was a friend of Epstein but claimed their relationship ended in the early 2000s because the financier poached employees working at Trump’s golf club spa in Florida.
The first lady’s lawyers sent a letter to Hunter Biden’s lawyer demanding that he withdraw the statement and apologise, otherwise he would face compensation of “more than $1 billion.”
The letter said that the first lady had suffered “enormous financial and reputational damage” as a result of the repeated statement.
Biden’s youngest son is also accused of having a “long history of using other people’s names” and of repeating the statement “to draw attention to himself.”
In an extensive interview with director Andrew Callaghan published earlier this month, Hunter Biden said that unpublished documents relating to Epstein could “incriminate” President Trump.
Financier Jeffrey Epstein was suspected of organising sex parties involving minors for members of the political elite. The case received widespread public attention, with the names of politicians and celebrities being mentioned.
In 2019, Epstein was found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial. According to official reports, he committed suicide.
