Author Michael Wolff has filed a lawsuit against U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, accusing her of threatening him with a $1 billion lawsuit to prevent him from reporting and writing about her alleged connections to Jeffrey Epstein, NBC News reported.

“Mrs. Trump’s claims are made solely to intimidate, punish, or otherwise maliciously interfere with Mr. Wolff’s freedom of speech,” the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, states. The case includes a letter sent last week to Wolff by Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, demanding that he retract his public comments linking the First Lady to Epstein — the convicted sex offender — and offer “monetary compensation” for the damage allegedly caused to Mrs. Trump.

Melania Trump has strongly denied any association with Epstein. Her attorneys have called such reports false, and her office said Wednesday that she is “proud to continue standing up to those who spread malicious and defamatory lies as they desperately seek unjustified attention and attempt to profit from their unlawful conduct.”

Brito’s letter cited Wolff’s comments published earlier this year in The Daily Beast article titled “Melania Trump Is ‘Deeply Involved’ in the Epstein Scandal: Author”, as well as remarks he made on The Daily Beast’s podcast.

The Daily Beast later issued a retraction and an apology. The full text of the withdrawn article is no longer available online. Instead, an editor’s note on the site reads:

“Upon reflection, we concluded that the article did not meet our standards and have therefore removed it from our platforms.”

In his lawsuit, Wolff claims his statements were taken out of context and insists he did not defame Mrs. Trump.

Melania Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Epstein was known to have been acquainted with Donald Trump during the 1990s and early 2000s.