Melania Trump blasts claims about Jeffrey Epstein and her

First lady Melania Trump on Thursday blasted what she described as an array of false claims about her and notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."I am not Epstein's victim," Melania Trump told reporters in a statement at the White House that ended without her taking questions. "Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.""I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims," she said of the late sex offender, who was previously a friend of President Donald Trump's. "I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant.""The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," Melania 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."The first lady ended her statement by calling on Congress to give "women who have been victimized by Epstein ... a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.""Then, and only then, will we have the truth," she said.Two members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee — Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Robert Garcia, D-Calif. — promptly endorsed Melania Trump's call for a public hearing for Epstein victims.It was not clear what spurred the first lady to comment on Epstein. Her office's announcement on Wednesday that she would make a statement at the White House on Thursday did not indicate what she planned to talk about.But in her statement, the text of which the White House later posted online, the first lady acknowledged writing a warm email to Epstein's now-convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on Oct. 23, 2002, which referenced a New York magazine profile about Epstein. That email is one of millions of documents related to Epstein and Maxwell that have been released by the Department of Justice pursuant to a law mandating their public release. The email was posted on X on Feb. 10 in a tweet thread by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.In the New York magazine article, President Trump said, "I've known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy.""He's a lot of fun to be with," Trump said in the article. "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life." In her email to Maxwell, Melania Trump wrote, "Dear G! How are you? Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on the picture.""I know you are very busy flying all over the world. How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great time! Love, Melania," she wrote.Melania Trump, in her statement on Thursday, said, "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," she said. "My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note."The first lady also said that the first time she "crossed paths with Epstein" was in 2000 at an event where she was with now-President Trump."At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings," Melania Trump said."Fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now," she said. "Be cautious about what you believe: These images and stories are completely false.""I'm not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein's crimes," the first lady said. "My name has never appeared in court documents ... victim statements or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter," she said.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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