Melania Trump just gave an apparently unprompted statement denying any ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said in a telecast, the script of which was further published on the White House website. “I have never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.”
“To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she continued. “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, MELANIA.”
Calling out “fake images and statements” that have circulated, she said, “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. I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior.”
Rather than calling for the full release of the Epstein files or for people to cooperate with the DOJ investigation, she said, “Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn’t amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth. I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the account that used to belong to Kamala Harris’s campaign had some responses:
HQ / Via x.com
HQ / Justice Department / Via x.com / [4:42 PM]chicagotribune.com
Some also questioned *why* Melania had made the statement at all:
Sooooo…how about we get those unredacted Epstein files then?
