WASHINGTON — First Lady Melania Trump made a rare public appearance at the White House on Thursday to tell reporters that she did not know about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and that the convicted sex offender did not introduce her to her husband, President Trump.
“The lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” the first lady said. She added that she was “not Epstein’s victim” and emphasized: “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”
The first lady spoke for less than six minutes and walked out of the room without taking questions from reporters, including one that shouted “Why now?” as she exited the room.
Melania Trump instead decided to read a statement that distanced her from any connection to Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. She said she had never been on Epstein’s plane or visited his private island and noted that her name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements or FBI interviews related to the Epstein files.
“The false smears about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop,” she said.
Melania Trump told reporters she met her husband “by chance” at a party in New York City in 1998.
The Trumps and Epstein overlapped in New York social circles and have been pictured together.
From left, Donald Trump, future wife Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 12, 2000.
(Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images)
Melania Trump has previously pushed back against claims that Epstein was involved in introducing her and Donald Trump.
Author Michael Wolff said last year that Epstein played a role in introducing the couple in a Daily Beast article that was later retracted. Melania Trump later sent a letter to Wolff demanding that he retract his statements, apologize and offer her a financial settlement. Wolff filed a lawsuit in response, alleging that Melania Trump’s letter was designed to “create a climate of fear” and “shut down legitimate inquiry into the Epstein matter with the Trumps.” The case is ongoing.
HarperCollins UK last year also recalled a biography of the former British Prince Andrew that claimed Epstein had introduced Melania and Donald Trump.
Epstein himself had suggested in a 2016 email that he was with Donald Trump and Melania Knauss, as she was then known, when they met.
Epstein was a known fabulist and there is no indication of where the alleged meeting would have taken place.
The email, whose recipient’s name is redacted, was released by the Department of Justice in response to last year’s Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the agency to release all documents related to its investigations into the deceased financier who has been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 victims.
The first lady’s appearance Thursday itself was striking for its rarity. She has largely stayed out of the public eye during her husband’s second term, making it all more notable that she decided to address allegations tied to one of the most high-profile scandals that has dogged the Trump administration.
In a phone interview with an MS NOW reporter, the president said he didn’t “know anything about” the first lady’s on-camera statement. The White House had sent a notice to the press on Wednesday about her plans to make “a statement.”
During the planned event, Melania Trump acknowledged that she did have an email exchange with Maxwell but said she never had a relationship with her or Epstein. The correspondence was a “trivial note” and a “polite reply” to an email, she said.
The Epstein files released by the Justice Department contain a 2002 email exchange between Maxwell and a woman who identifies herself as Melania.
“Dear G! How are you?,” the woman writes to Maxwell. “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on the picture.”
The message seems to be referencing a 2002 New York Magazine article in which Donald Trump described Epstein as a “terrific guy” and said that he had known the financier for 15 years.
“He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump said about Epstein. “No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
In the 2002 email exchange, the woman asked Maxwell about a recent trip Maxwell took to Palm Beach, Fla., where Epstein owned a mansion, and suggested that they get in touch in the future.
“Give me a call when you are back in NY,” she wrote.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment about whether this was the email Melania Trump had referred to.
Paolo Zampolli, a modeling agent who has long been considered the person who introduced Melania and Donald Trump, maintained in an interview that he was the one who introduced the pair.
“I would be delighted to testify in Congress who introduced the first lady to the president,” he said.
Zampolli, who was acquainted with Epstein through the modeling world and also appears in the Epstein documents, said that it was no surprise that Melania Trump would have come across Epstein and Maxwell.
“These people were around,” Zampolli said of Epstein and Maxwell. “They were part of the scene.”
Zampolli, a longtime ally of Trump, is currently the U.S. special envoy for global partnerships and served on the board of the Kennedy Center in the previous Trump administration.
The onetime modeling scout was accused recently of using his political connections to get his Brazilian ex-girlfriend detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he denied.
Melania Trump did not directly defend her husband’s connections to Epstein. She said “Epstein was not alone” and noted that several prominent individuals have resigned from their posts after their names surfaced in the Epstein files.
“Of course, this does not amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth,” she said.
Trump has repeatedly been accused of withholding information from the public about the Epstein files
The first lady closed her remarks by urging Congress to hold public hearings focused on the testimony of Epstein’s survivors.
“Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone,” Trump said. “I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing, specifically centered around the survivors. Give these victims the opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony.”
A group of 15 Epstein victims and family members criticized the first lady’s call for them to give congressional testimony, saying that it put the burden on survivors to shed light on Epstein’s crimes and diverted attention from former Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, who has resisted providing testimony to the House Oversight Committee about her release of the files.
“Survivors have done their part,” the group wrote. “Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, agreed with the first lady that there should be a public hearing in Congress.
“We encourage Chairman [James] Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately,” Garcia (D-Long Beach) wrote in a statement.
A spokesperson for Comer, a Kentucky Republican, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
