First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement from the White House on Thursday denying any friendship or close ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Reading from prepared remarks, she rejected what she called false allegations and attacks on her character.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said, adding that those spreading falsehoods were lacking in ethics and respect. She described the accusations as mean-spirited attempts to damage her reputation.
President Donald Trump told MSNBC later that he had not been briefed in advance about the first lady’s remarks. The president has previously said his own association with Epstein ended in the mid-2000s and that he was unaware of any criminal conduct.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from a minor and died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges; authorities ruled his death a suicide.
Melania said any encounters with Epstein were the result of overlapping New York social circles and not a personal relationship. “I have never been friends with Epstein,” she said, and added that she and her husband were occasionally invited to the same events where Epstein also appeared. She specifically denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island or flying on his private jet, commonly referred to as the “Lolita Express.”
She also denied any relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, a close associate of Epstein. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell,” Melania said. Maxwell was convicted and in 2022 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in assisting Epstein’s trafficking operation.
The first lady told reporters she met Donald Trump before any alleged contact with Epstein, saying they met by chance at a New York City party in 1998. “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” she said.
Melania urged Congress to hold public hearings so victims of Epstein’s crimes could offer sworn testimony if they wished, saying every woman should have the opportunity to tell her story publicly.
She also addressed a 2002 email to Maxwell — one of many documents released in recent months — describing the message, which asked Maxwell to call when she returned to New York, as casual correspondence.
A series of newly released records, often referred to as the “Epstein files,” has renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s connections to prominent figures and prompted political fallout at home and abroad. In response to criticism about the handling of those documents, the statement said, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 1. In March, former President Bill Clinton told a congressional committee he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Edited by: Alex Berry