Hunter Biden said he won't apologize to Melania Trump amid lawsuit threat
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First lady Melania Trump at the U.S. Capitol earlier this year. Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Hunter Biden won't apologize to first lady Melania Trump despite her threat to sue, he said in an interview with independent journalist Andrew Callaghan released Thursday.
The big picture: The first lady's lawyers demanded that the son of former President Biden remove and retract commentary about her made in a separate Callaghan interview earlier this month, including his assertion that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "introduced Melania" to President Trump.
- "F**k that," Biden said in the Thursday video. "That's not going to happen."
Driving the news: The first lady's attorney Alejandro Brito said in an Aug. 6 letter that Biden's commentary in an Aug. 5 YouTube interview with Callaghan was "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory" and threatened legal action, Fox News Digital first reported.
- In the "Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan" video, Biden said the connections between Epstein and the Trumps "are like, so wide and deep."
- In the Thursday follow-up video, Biden said, "I don't believe in guilt by association alone, but the connections that are so glaringly obvious that I think they're trying to use other things to distract."
Zoom out: Brito threatened to file a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages if Biden did not issue a "full and fair retraction of the video" and disparaging or misleading statements.
- Brito said Biden's source was Michael Wolff, "whose lies were published by The Daily Beast in the article titled 'Melania Trump 'very involved' in Epstein Scandal: Author.'" Axios was unable to reach Wolff for comment.
- After receiving a cease-and-desist demand letter a week ago, The Daily Beast issued an apology to the first lady and "retracted the false and defamatory statements contained in the article by deleting it in its entirety," Brito wrote.
- "Despite this, you have unjustifiably relied upon Mr. Wolff's false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump and maliciously elected to republish them," Brito wrote.
The latest: Callaghan, a journalist, said in an emailed statement Thursday evening his company would not pull the video from YouTube.
- "If those statements are false, well, take it up with Michael Wolff — who is ironically, not being sued," he said, in reference to Biden's source for the claims.
The other side: Biden said Thursday that he thinks President Trump and Melania Trump are "bullies" and they believe the potential lawsuit "is going to scare me."
- The former president's son said he'd welcome a deposition where the Trumps can clarify the nature of their relationship with Epstein.
- "I'm more than happy to provide them the platform to be able to do that," he said.
What they're saying: Nick Clemens, aide to the first lady, said in an emailed statement Wednesday evening that her attorneys were "actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods."
- The Trumps have long said they were introduced by then-modeling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.
- Representatives for Melania Trump did not respond to Axios' request for comment on who else they'd contacted.
- Representatives for Biden did not immediately respond to Axios' Wednesday evening request for comment.
Go deeper: Trump, White House Wire stop citing WSJ after Epstein story
Editor's note: This story has been updated with Callaghan's statement.
