The US first lady said on Thursday (local time) that she never had a relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein and denied any claims linking her to him.
Melania Trump In a rare speech from the White House, he said: “The lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
“I am not a victim of Epstein,” she added.
Melania says she has never had sex with Epstein Or his colleague Ghislaine Maxwell. She said she only had informal correspondence with the latter.
“Those who lied to me lacked moral standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but I object to their malicious defamation of my reputation,” she said.
However, the US first lady did admit to being invited to the same parties as Epstein along with her husband Donald Trump “as overlapping social circles are common in New York City and Palm Beach”.
She also denied that she met Donald through Epstein, recalling that she first met Epstein in 2000 when she attended an event with Trump. Melania said she knew nothing about Epstein’s crimes at the time.
Melania Trump has denied ever visiting the notorious Epstein’s private island and clarified that she is not a witness in any investigation surrounding the convicted sex offender.
“I know nothing about Epstein’s abuse of victims. I was never involved in any capacity – I was not a participant, never flown on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” she said.
Melania’s statement comes as the ongoing Israeli-backed war between Iran and the United States has shifted focus away from the trove of Epstein documents disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year.
The sex scandal involving Epstein has so far cast a pall on Trump’s second term as president. The convicted sex offender died in 2019 while he was in federal custody awaiting trial on charges involving sex trafficking of minors.
Melania calls on Congress
In her shocking and rare speech, Melania also called on the United States to provide public hearings for survivors of Epstein’s abuse to reveal the full truth.
She said every victim should have the opportunity to share her story and testify under oath before Congress.
“Every woman should have a day to tell her story in public, if she so chooses, and then her testimony should be permanently enshrined in the congressional record,” she said.
Melania Trump’s full statement
good afternoon.
The lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.
Those who lied to me lacked moral standards, humility and respect. I don’t object to their ignorance, but I object to their malicious slander of my reputation.
Epstein and I were never friends. Donald and I were invited from time to time to the same parties as Epstein, as overlapping social circles was common in New York and Palm Beach.
To be clear, I have never been associated with Epstein or his associate Maxwell. My email responses to Maxwell can only be classified as casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email was nothing more than a trivial note.
I am not a victim of Epstein. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a party in New York in 1998. My first encounter with my husband is detailed in my book, Melania.
My first encounter with Epstein was in 2000, when Donald and I attended an event together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal conduct.
For years, many false images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media. Be careful about what you believe. These images and stories are simply false.
I am not a witness or named witness to any of Epstein’s crimes. My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements or FBI interviews related to Epstein.
I never knew about Epstein’s abuse of victims. I was never involved in any capacity—I was not a participant, never flew on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island.
I have never been legally charged or convicted of Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other abhorrent conduct.
The false defamation of me by small-minded, politically motivated individuals and entities seeking to damage my reputation for financial gain and political advancement must stop.
My attorneys and I have successfully fought these baseless and baseless lies and will continue to defend my good reputation without hesitation. To date, a number of individuals and companies have been legally obliged to publicly apologize and retract their lies about me, such as The Daily Beast, James Carville and HarperCollins UK.
Now is the time for Congress to take action. Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from positions of power after the matter became widely politicized. Of course, this does not mean guilt, but we must still be open and transparent in exposing the truth.
I call on Congress to provide survivors-specific public hearings for the women abused by Epstein. Give these victims the opportunity to testify under oath before Congress and have the power to testify under oath. Every woman should have one day to tell her story in public if she chooses, and her testimony should be permanently enshrined in the congressional record.
Then, and only then, will we get the truth.
