As I approached the start of my first-year torts classes at George Washington University, we have a rather intriguing tort action being threatened by the First Lady. Melania Trump has been pursuing media outlets claiming that she was introduced to or had close contact with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein. However, the latest recipient of a notice letter is none other than the son of the prior president, Hunter Biden.
The letter below focuses on two statements made by Biden in a video interview with Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan, posted to YouTube in early August.
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 First Lady’s counsel, Alejandro Brito, wrote to Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, that the statements are defamatory per se. The common law has long recognized per se categories of defamation where damages are presumed and special damages need not be proven. These include: (1) disparaging a person’s professional character or standing; (2) alleging a person is unchaste; (3) alleging that a person has committed a criminal act or act of moral turpitude; (4) alleging a person has a sexual or loathsome disease; and (5) attacking a person’s business or professional reputation.
It would be interesting if Hunter’s counsel claimed that the First Lady is technically a “public official” to trigger a higher standard of proof.
In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court crafted the actual malice standard that required public officials to shoulder the higher burden of proving defamation. Under that standard, an official would have to show either actual knowledge of its falsity or a reckless disregard of the truth.
The First Lady has a federal budget, staff, and official duties.
In the end, it is likely a moot point since, even if she is not a public official, she is clearly a public figure.
The actual malice standard was later extended to public figures. The Supreme Court has held that public figure status applies when someone “thrust[s] himself into the vortex of [the] public issue [and] engage[s] the public’s attention in an attempt to influence its outcome.” A limited-purpose public figure status applies if someone voluntarily “draw[s] attention to himself” or allows himself to become part of a controversy “as a fulcrum to create public discussion.” Wolston v. Reader’s Digest Association, 443 U.S. 157, 168 (1979).
Brito is claiming damages of $1 billion notice over statements that are “false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements” made about the First Lady:
“These false, disparaging, defamatory, and inflammatory statements are extremely salacious and have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums. Indeed, the video has since been re-published by various media outlets, journalists, and political commentators with millions of social media followers that have disseminated the false and defamatory statements therein to tens of millions of people worldwide.”
In laying the foundation for reckless disregard of the truth, Brito is citing the dubious source for the information as “serial fabulist Michael Wolff, whose lies were published by The Daily Beast in the article titled ‘Melania Trump ‘very involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author.’”
Wolff is highly controversial. We previously discussed how his sensational claims have been regularly challenged. That led to a rare rebuke from Special Counsel Mueller after the publication of his book “Siege: Trump Under Fire.” The Special Counsel’s office has already made a rare public denial of one of those claims: that Mueller’s office actually drafted indictments against Trump for obstruction of justice. The New York Times reported on the new book as coming out “despite lingering questions about its accuracy.”
While Mueller’s office categorically denied the claim, Wolff insisted ‘My source is impeccable, and I have no doubt about the authenticity and the significance of the documents.”
The notice letter is ironic given Hunter Biden’s scorched Earth strategy of threatening lawsuits, including defamation, against critics. It did not work. Indeed, Biden abandoned lawsuits after his pardon by his father.
Previous media outlets have pulled similar statements against the First Lady.
The Daily Beast pulled the article detailing allegations by Wolff that Melania Trump was introduced to her husband, Donald Trump, via a modeling agent connected to Epstein. It ran the following notice: “Editor’s Note. After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding.”
Likewise, James Carville apologized to the First Lady after repeating the claim and stated on his podcast:
“In last week’s podcast episode, we spoke with Judd Legum. After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize.”
Stephen Colbert with Melania Trump at the 2024 Democratic convention.
And to think, he got cancelled for not being funny and costing his employers millions of dollars. Who could have seen that coming?
Hey sweetie pie, there’s a convention of dentists from out of down coming up, can I pencil you in for their nighttime “entertainment”? Funny enough, they’re okay with you not having teeth, if you catch my drift. Thanks a bunch!
Hey sugar plum, watch where you post you’re god dam comments. Thanks a bunch!
So I can tell them it’s a yes??? Oh boy, they’ll be so excited. You may want to bring some lotion this time.
Hey sugar plum, you’re really going to the Blue Oyster Bar and meet some cops.
I that you leftists hated cops. Oh well, whatever it takes to earn your quarter, right dearie?
Sugar Plum stated, “I that you leftists hated cops. Oh well, whatever it takes to earn your quarter, right dearie?”
You drunken bum, “I that you”.
I’m telling you for second time, to watch where you post you’re god dam comments.
“I’m telling you for second time, to watch where you post you’re god dam comments.”
Oh no, the grammar police are here too!!
Sugar Plum,
Your IP address is also telling. You are a top poster on a homosexual blog.
Oh noes!!
Why do you hate homosexuals Gigi? Something about your night job got you bothered?
Hey Gigi, who won the 2024 election anyway?
An unscrupulous Russian man has lured a confused septuagenarian to Alaska in an apparent elder scam, concerned associates of the old man reported on Thursday.
According to those associates, the Russian has posed as a friend of his geriatric mark in order to take advantage of him in the remote, icy setting.
“This poor, addled codger isn’t playing with a full deck and hasn’t for some time,” one associate said. “We’re afraid that the Russian will trick him into signing something away.”
The situation is particularly troubling, the associate said, because “he’s a feeble old man who likes to wander around on top of buildings, and the Russian likes pushing people off them.”
I worry that Putin will explain that Alaska once belonged to Russia, to which Trump will reply, “Who knew?”
Then Trump will offer it back if Putin will buy a few Trump bitcoins.
Unfortunately for the addled old man, he had not a friend left in the world.
The last one, an inmate, died under suspicious circumstances.
Oh I see, it’s our spaz. Hey, what happened to your Smithsonian copy and paste?
They need to have their meeting in a high rise building, near an open window. In case push comes to shove….
But enough about Hillary Clinton
Comedy, folks, comedy. No, this person isn’t an obsessive freak at all. Have you even tried taking your meds?
Nothing bad will happen to Trump .
Putin only gets rid of those who dare to cross him, not useful toadies like our dear leader.
So Hillary is safe? How many millions did Bill get for once single speech in Moscow? How much did Hillary get for selling our uranium to Putin?
Couldn’t agree more.
These MAGA morons are such a sad bunch of whiners and complainers.
“Couldn’t agree more.
These MAGA morons are such a sad bunch of whiners and complainers.”
Replying to yourself is so lame Gigi. Why are you so pathetic? Did you not “earn” your bus fare last night?
“These MAGA morons are such a sad bunch of whiners and complainers.”
That’s once, say MAGA two more times and President Harris will appear!!!
“Libeling the First Lady” you say ???
As the good professor has pointed out many times here, the truth is an absolute defense for libel actions.
The TRUTH for all to see, is that Melania Trump has a long history of posing naked for disreputable publications.
“The TRUTH for all to see, is that Melania Trump has a long history of posing naked for disreputable publications.”
And yet nobody ever wants to see you naked. Not even your “friends” under the highway overpass.
You see, if this missive was about Biden, it would actually be funny. Instead, it’s just trite and lame. Are we going to be subjected to this kind of crap every day?
The truth really sucks for MAGA morons.
Don’t you agree???
“The truth really sucks for MAGA morons.”
That’s two MAGAs now Gigi. One more and President Harris will appear!!!! Woohoooo!!!!
Hey, you never answered about your overpass “servicing” job. Do you have business cards that I can pass around? There’s a bunch of Chinese businessmen coming in soon for a conference, and I really need to find some ladies like you to “take care” of them. Thanks a lot sweeetheart!
A scrupulous and intelligent creator of a worldwide blog has generously allowed unscrupulous and lower-intelligent attention-seekers to post silly and disparaging non-legal comments,–he doesn’t need to lure them. He knows the they will do all his work for him–he cleverly knows that the posters will define for themselves what they truly are, -and he can therefore avoid any cumbersome claims of discrimination or oppression. (Perhaps they are feeble, poorly-addled and geriatric, because they seem to have forgotten who they are and must instead pen themselves as Anonymous?)
The situation is not particularly troubling, because trash day is every Wednesday.
Oh be nice to Gigi. It’s not like she has anything better to do than waste her pathetic life spamming a law professor’s blog.
(Indeed, it might be said that a scrupulous and intelligent creator of this blog has lured them onto this site, so that
some septic-cidal-genarians (whose often-wise and sagacious comments I appreciate) might increase their non-taxable income by working on the One Big Beautiful Cleanup Day on Wednesdays.
Lin,
Well said and spot on!!! As always a great take down of the annoy moron with such ease and class!!!
Lol.
Hunter is one to talk, His cocaine infused sex binges with Natasha and Sevtlana and a line of Hookers that could stretch round the block of his Bungalow of despicable sexual exchanges. Even Diddy would blush in comparison to his Freak-Offs. Not surprising the Secret Service was complain about the ‘contact highs’ they had to endured. Debtors Prison is where He needs to be for life. Damages of $1 billion isn’t enough. If the shoe was on the other foot, Slick would be suing for $100 Billion, because he needs it to get outta debt with his Sugar Bro.
Sorry, Hunter. The process is the punishment. From now on, Democrats in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
This article is nothing more than a nothing-burger, something for the low-IQ commenters here to rip apart and scream about how attacking family is a verboten.
Just more junk postings by Turley to feed his rabid MAGA dogs.
“This article is nothing more than a nothing-burger, something for the low-IQ commenters here to rip apart and scream about how attacking family is a verboten.
Just more junk postings by Turley to feed his rabid MAGA dogs.”
MAGA MAGA MAGA
Have you called President Harris yet and asked her how many votes your MAGA MAGA MAGA rhetoric earned her? Go ahead, the number is 202-456-1414. We’ll wait here for your report with bated breath.
“nothing-burger”
Like Biden’s obviously senility?
Like the exposure of Russia Russia Russia hoax?
What else is a “nothing-burger” to you?
Cocaine in the White House. A missing Secretary of Defense. More “nothing-burgers” right? Your partisanship is disgusting.
what does any any of that have to do with M. Trump?
Nothing, this was all during the Biden reign of error. But you didn’t care about any of it at the time, did you?
I see that our loser troll is back with her typical crap. I suppose we’ll have to get the copy and paste about the Smithsonian next. So tiresome.
Melania will go down in history as the greatest and most popular First Lady in history.
She has the singular honor of being the only First Lady we have ever seen completely naked.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/naked-truth-melania-man-disrobed/story?id=40663883
The photo that Turley has used at the top of his piece does not do her justice.
There are many more much more appropriate photos he could have used.
https://www.google.com/search?q=melania+trump+naked&sca_esv=e80e085d87ffeffa&udm=2&biw=1920&bih=929&sxsrf=AE3TifOGcfyqM4P3NphjF4QStlg0YaRhPA%3A1755178280653&ei=KOWdaNLTJ-rvkPIPmvi8uQ4&ved=0ahUKEwjSh77PtIqPAxXqN0QIHRo8L-cQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=melania+trump+naked&gs_lp=EgNpbWciE21lbGFuaWEgdHJ1bXAgbmFrZWRIniFQhAhY4hhwAXgAkAEAmAFboAGCBKoBATa4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgB44CsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcA&sclient=img
Now do Michelle Obama. No wait, I WAS ONLY KIDDING!!!
That’s a strange comment coming from the party of my body My choice and promoting female empowerment
See Frau Docktor Jill Biden in her hooker outfit didn’t exactly empower anything in me.
Real classy you putz.
I always like to keep it as classy as Melania.
Is that what you do when you’re turning tricks under overpass for your bus fare? From what I saw when I drove by, that wasn’t particularly classy.
First Lady (for a second time) Melania Trump is a beautiful and classy woman. Two things you will never be.
How marvelous! 🙂
Remember when the fashion magazines boycotted the actual model Melania, and instead kept pushing that linebacker Michelle Obama as somehow feminine and attractive?
Wolff repeated something Epstein said on many occasions, it doesn’t make it true, but others besides Wolff heard Epstein say it. Epstein also said the first time Donald and Melania slept together was on Epstein’s plane. Donald allegedly appears in the flight logs seven times, I found no record of Melania but the logs are incomplete. Melania and Epstein obviously knew each other, possibly only through Donald. Melania’s known history and serious gaps lead me to believe she arrived in America after being trafficked herself.
“Wolff repeated something Epstein said on many occasions, it doesn’t make it true, but others besides Wolff heard Epstein say it. Epstein also said the first time Donald and Melania slept together was on Epstein’s plane. Donald allegedly appears in the flight logs seven times, I found no record of Melania but the logs are incomplete. Melania and Epstein obviously knew each other, possibly only through Donald. Melania’s known history and serious gaps lead me to believe she arrived in America after being trafficked herself.”
Hey, you do know that nobody cares about the Epstein stuff anymore, right? Google searches about it are down like 90% and still dropping. You can terminate your lame libelous programming and move on to something else now.
Who is saying midway to end above about Melania, you, or Epstein?
Poor Hunter, Maybe he just doesn’t know how to Be (as in ‘A Being’).
At the time of his ‘Artist’ Phase there looked like a glimmer of hope for him,
but alas he has fallen into the morass of pitiless scum once again.
There’s no bottom to the depths of depravity.
If only he knew …
Born Free (1966)
So, didnt someone claim Hunter Biden was the smartest person he knew?
Given old man Biden’s raging senility, at that moment when he said that, it might very well have been true.
not just senility. I would think that intelligent/astute people knew better than to hang around him. they stayed away from him, so maybe it was true.
They especially kept their little kids away from him. We all know why.
Well if the First Lady wins, maybe this will put a dent into all the corrupt money that the big guy and his corrupt family have taken in all these years.
Good for the First Lady. She has been disparaged by the media to an extent not seen in recent history. I hope she takes the miscreant son totally to the cleaners. Whatever he owns, I hope she gets it.
Mr. Biden just does not seem to have any interest in keeping his mouth shut. He seems to be too stupid to realize that he could inadvertently upset the wrong people. You can upset many people with insults and slander and they will take no action but insulting a beloved wife or other family member is a different thing entirely. People and their friends can get very prickly when family members are harmed or are perceived to have been harmed.
We don’t need a replay of Henry 11.
You have naive attitude to politics in 2025. Everything is fair in love and war and were are in a war.
Melania is a big girl and can take of herself, she knew what she was getting into. She has the money and her husband in the POTUS, and they have friends.
What strikes me as hypocritical here among the MAGA nuts, you and your ilk insult and threatened anyone who doesn’t agree with you.
You and your geriatric buddies here belong in a different time. RIP.
“What strikes me as hypocritical here among the MAGA nuts, you and your ilk insult and threatened anyone who doesn’t agree with you.”
If you say MAGA two more times, a President Harris will magically appear in the White House 🤣
Proves the point, stupid comments from the locals.
Brilliant retort. You’re scintillating intelligence is really shining through today. Keep up the good work. Try calling everyone else a nut a few more times, that always makes friends.
I do not know if this would be the right case, but we need to test the whole area of “public officials” and “public figures” having to meet an almost impossibly high standard of what constitutes defamation.
The whole Russiagate scandal boils down to an immense, multi-faceted conspiracy to defame Donald Trump and a number of his associates. I wonder if the perpetrators in the Democratic Party and the media entities that reproduced and spread their lies would have been so eager and aggressive if they feared the possible ramifications of defamation suits. The malice and disregard for the truth are blatantly obvious, but the burden of proving them in court against defendants who will just destroy evidence and lie, is too high for justice to be done.
Similar when people who expressed skepticism about COVID lockdowns and vaccines were accused of not caring about mass deaths.
I would have hoped for a bit more analysis in regard to the chances of success for such a lawsuit.
I have no sympathy for anyone named Biden, and I would be happy to see a successful lawsuit against Hunter. But as a non-lawyer, it doesn’t seem like much of a case, particularly in regard to the second statement,
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.”
If Michael Wolff did publicly say such a thing, then Biden is simply stating a fact. “Michael Wolff said…” I can’t see how that is actionable.
In any case, I’m not going to cry if the threat itself causes HB some sleepless nights.
“In any case, I’m not going to cry if the threat itself causes HB some sleepless nights.”
Speaking of sleepless nights, I wonder if Hunter ever got his bag of cocaine back.
Do it Mrs. Trump. We need to see the depravity of leftists laid out in a courtroom.
I’ll contribute to a Gofundme anytime.
I agree with earlier comments about the Biden finances. It’s like Fred Sanford said; ‘Put it on my account, On account, I ain’t got no money”….
It is kind of nice though to see public spankings happen, even though they may come to naught.
Obama should sue the moron who claimed his birth certificate was fake.
“Obama should sue the moron who claimed his birth certificate was fake.”
Hillary? She was the first to question Obama’s birth story, as we all know.
Everyone… Opps!
It was officially die-hard Hillary supporters who first questioned Obama’s birthplace, under the rubric Party Unity My Ass, or PUMA. Also medico-lawyer Orly Taitz.
Trump came late to the party. He was like a high school bully who identified something he could attack in a weaker classmate.
I knew Michael Wolff was a liar from the get-go, when he claimed to have sat in the West Wing, day after day. The West Wing is incredibly small. There is no place to unobtrusively hang out. And what would be his justification for vusiting every day?
It is a forgery, Einstein. Was your lobotomy painful?
Isn’t it amazing? Eight years of this joker as president, plus I don’t even know how many “autobiographies”, and what do we really know about him? That’s the real scandal.
Yeah, just like Damien. No one knew a thing about him either.
I agree. Take Hilary for everything she’s worth.
Why hasn’t she sued Michael Wolff?
This doesn’t preclude doing that.
*. Sued Michael Wolff, you say? Because he wasn’t sued Hunter felt free to repeat it? Hunter won’t retract. Perhaps it will go to trial.
Equal protection for public figures is the way to stop the media lies. Comedians, artists, preachers and ministers will maintain their freedom to lie and deceive?
The atrocities such as Mangione murder get little notice. Murderers toying with people in cat and mouse will get stale. The intern murdered or Doge worker beaten little attention but a photo of Melania brought the cluster bombs.
Notice no men have come forward accusing Melania of misdeeds compare and contrast the Me Too movement, WOL. A notable dynamic it is.
Defamation Law should be our model for combatting politically-motivated Public Frauds. If we don’t go in this direction, the public square will be completely overtaken by deceitful infowarfare. And, the Sullivan precedent needs to be thrown out — it is a clear violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection under the law. Congress has never defined in any statute a “public figure”, nor would it ever do so because of the 14th. All citizens are entitled to the same level of legal deterrence against intentional defamers. And the public in a democracy must have the power to deter those who try to dupe them and manipulate voting behavior with false narratives — that is, any democracy that hopes to endure.
Hear, hear
The Biden Crime Family money spigot was turned off. Mr. H. Biden has no means to pay ever continuing legal fees he creates with his potentially drug fueled bloviations!!!!
“Biden Crime Family”! 🍺
Why did President Autopen pardon them on the way out? It wasn’t because they did not commit crimes, otherwise why would they need a pardon?
Damn are you dense. The real question is why you feel the need to display your stupidity in a public forum.
Hey Wally, the Bidens no longer have any power. You can stop being their pathetic simp now.