WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump, in a stunning public announcement on Thursday, denounced “lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein” and called on Congress to hold a public hearing for his victims.
“I am not Epstein’s victim,” the first lady said in a brief statement at the White House.
It’s unclear why the first lady chose to hold the press event at a time when the White House is trying to move on from the Epstein saga that has been a drag on her husband’s second term.
President Trump has tried to distance himself from the case, accusing Democrats of digging up his old friendship with Epstein to hurt him politically.
The president and Epstein were friends until the mid-2000s. And the commander-in-chief has always denied he knew anything about Epstein’s sex crimes.
The first lady’s office pointed to her statement when asked why the announcement was today — as speculation swirled online that she was getting ahead of a looming news story. She declined to answer questions from reporters, including whether she will meet with the Epstein victims.
“First Lady Melania Trump spoke out now because enough is enough,” said her senior adviser Marc Beckman. “The lies must stop. It is time for the public and media to focus on her incredible achievements as First Lady, the lives she has positively impacted, and her commitment to our nation.”
Melania Trump was a model and was dating Trump during his friendship with Epstein, then a wealthy financier.
In her statement, she pushed back against claims from author Michael Wolff that the notorious pedophile introduced her to the future president.
In her memoir, Trump said the first couple met at a fashion party in the 1990s and were introduced by a mutual friend who was at the event.
She also criticized what she said were fake images and bogus stories swirling online.
“I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims, I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” she said.
