Nearly four months after threatening to file a $1 billion defamation lawsuit against Hunter Biden for his comments about Jeffrey Epstein introducing her to Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump's legal team still remain in the critical "consideration phase" of determining whether to pursue legal action.
The lawsuit threat, issued via demand letter on August 6, 2025, with an August 7 deadline, has yet to materialize in any courtroom, leading legal observers to speculate that the first lady may be employing an innovative "indefinite deliberation" strategy previously unknown to American jurisprudence.
"Mrs. Trump's attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies," a spokesperson stated back in August, though sources close to the matter indicate this active ensuring has primarily consisted of not filing any paperwork whatsoever.
The threatened litigation stems from Biden's August interview claim that Epstein introduced the Trumps, to which Biden responded with a firm refusal to apologize. Legal scholars note that the first lady's approach of threatening a billion-dollar lawsuit and then pursuing absolutely nothing represents a bold departure from traditional legal practice, which typically involves eventually doing something.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani explained that actually filing would require the president and first lady to sit for depositions and answer questions about their relationship with Epstein. Legal experts noted this would likely create a circus atmosphere, which apparently makes taking no action at all the more dignified alternative.
The non-filing has proven particularly strategic given that public figures face high bars in defamation cases and must prove actual malice. By declining to test these legal standards in court, the first lady has successfully avoided any risk of her billion-dollar claim being dismissed, laughed at, or requiring her to actually prove damages.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has dropped multiple other lawsuits due to financial constraints, suggesting he may not have resources to mount a vigorous defense anyway. However, sources indicate the Trump legal team prefers to keep their options open by maintaining the lawsuit in a perpetual state of "could happen any day now."
