First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin
WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump is denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes, saying Thursday that the “stories are completely false” and calling online accusations that she was somehow involved with the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with rich and powerful people “smears about me.”
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," Trump said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”
Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, Trump denied any association with Epstein and said, “My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success.”
The first lady also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.
“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”
Her out-of-the-blue message caught the White House — and indeed, all of Washington's political world — by surprise. It came just as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally appeared successful in moving beyond the Epstein controversy, which had dominated the spotlight for weeks.
Epstein, the case against him and the release of files associated with it had begun to be overshadowed by the war in Iran and other major issues — at least until the first lady's comments.
First lady Melania Trump departs after speaking with reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin
Trump said she was not friends with Epstein or his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating.
“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trifle,” she said.
Her calls for the issue to go back to Congress were also surprising given that they came after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Maxwell.
