First Lady Melania Trump has launched an aggressive legal campaign against Hunter Biden and other media figures over claims that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to President Donald Trump, threatening a $1 billion lawsuit and successfully forcing retractions from multiple publications.
The controversy began on August 5 when Hunter Biden appeared on the YouTube series “Channel 5” with host Andrew Callaghan, where he repeated claims that Epstein had introduced the future first couple. Biden cited author Michael Wolff as a source for the allegation, stating that the connections between Trump and Epstein were extensive.
On August 6, Melania Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito sent a legal demand letter to Biden, describing his statements as false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory. The letter demanded Biden immediately retract his comments and issue an apology, threatening legal action seeking over $1 billion in damages for what Brito characterized as overwhelming financial and reputational harm to the first lady.
Biden’s response was unequivocal. When offered an opportunity to apologize during a follow-up interview with Callaghan posted on August 14, Biden declared: “F— that. That’s not going to happen.” He maintained that his statements were based on news reports dating back to 2019 and suggested that if the Trumps wanted to clarify their relationship with Epstein, they could do so through depositions.
President Trump confirmed on August 12 that he had encouraged his wife to pursue legal action, telling Fox Radio’s Brian Kilmeade that Jeffrey Epstein had nothing to do with introducing him to Melania. Trump indicated he had told his wife to proceed with the lawsuit and allowed her to use his lawyers.
The legal threats have already yielded results across multiple media outlets. The Daily Beast removed an entire article that made similar claims about Epstein’s role in the Trump marriage after receiving a letter from Melania Trump’s attorney. The publication issued an apology acknowledging that they had received a challenge to their headline and framing.
Democratic strategist James Carville also issued a public apology to the first lady in August after making similar claims on his podcast. He removed the relevant comments from the episode after hearing from Melania Trump’s lawyers.
The legal pressure has extended to book publishing as well. Author Andrew Lownie’s biography, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York,” which initially included claims about Epstein introducing the Trumps, was altered after publication. HarperCollins UK confirmed that future print editions, the e-book, and audiobook versions would remove passages discussing the allegation following conversations between the publisher and Lownie.
The controversy has also impacted other media coverage. YouTube host Andrew Callaghan revealed that The New York Times had killed his planned op-ed about the lawsuit just 24 hours before its scheduled publication. Callaghan told Fox News Digital that after three weeks of collaboration and near-daily meetings with the Times, editors informed him they had to “pick their battles” and could not publish the piece. The op-ed was intended to focus on pitfalls of new media and serve as a survival guide for journalists navigating social media algorithms that often reward sensational content.
According to official accounts from both Trumps, they met at a Fashion Week party in November 1998 hosted by Paolo Zampolli, founder of ID Models management agency. Melania Trump has detailed their meeting in her 2024 memoir and in a 2016 Harper’s Bazaar profile, describing how Trump approached her table while accompanied by another woman. She indicated that Trump gave her multiple contact numbers, and she called him several days later after initially declining to provide her own number.
Zampolli, who discovered Melania in Milan in 1995 and helped secure her U.S. visa, has repeatedly confirmed his role in facilitating their meeting and has denied that Epstein was present at the 1998 party. The modeling agent has remained close to the Trump family, receiving a Kennedy Center board appointment and being named special envoy for global partnerships in March.
The rumor about Epstein’s involvement appears to have originated from Epstein himself, who reportedly began claiming credit for the introduction after Trump’s 2016 election victory. The New York Times reported in July 2019 that Epstein had been making such claims to associates, though neither Trump had ever mentioned Epstein in connection with their meeting.
Hunter Biden characterized the legal threats as a designed distraction and questioned how the claims could rise to the level of defamation. He expressed willingness to provide a platform for the president and first lady to clarify their relationship with Epstein through depositions, suggesting the entire world would appreciate getting to the bottom of their true relationship with the convicted sex offender.