The first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, has denied in an unusual public appearance that she had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, in what was her first public statement since the spotlight returned to the case of the deceased pedophile last year.
“The lies that link me to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein must end today,” she said in a statement to the media made at the White House in which she also assured that she did not meet her husband, President Donald Trump, through the financier.
“To be clear: I never had any relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell,” she said, adding that “from time to time” she and her husband were invited to the same parties “given that coincidence in social circles is common in both New York City and Palm Beach.”
He has also stated that his email exchanges with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former partner and main recruiter, “cannot be classified as anything more than casual correspondence.”
“I am not a victim of Epstein”
“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 City in 1998,” the first lady has declared.
Melania Trump has assured that the first time she crossed paths with Epstein – who committed suicide in his cell in a federal prison in 2019 – was in 2000, at an event she attended with the now US president: “At that time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal activities.”
The American first lady has also denounced that “numerous images and completely false statements” have been circulating on social networks.
“I was never on his plane or visited his island”
“My name has never appeared in court documents, sworn statements, victim testimonies or in FBI interviews related to the Epstein case. I was never aware of any of the abuses committed by Epstein against his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. I was never on Epstein’s plane nor visited his private island,” she stated forcefully.
Melania Trump has closed her message by urging Congress to grant a public hearing to the women who have been victims of Epstein to try to shed more light on the case.
The case that damages Trump the most
The issue of the documents from the investigation into the deceased pedophile has weighed heavily on the Trump Administration since last summer amid demands that the files of the case, which appears to involve many powerful men, be published in full.
Since last fall, the Justice Department was forced to make public hundreds of thousands of documents – redacted to protect victims and to avoid undermining ongoing investigations – but this failed to calm tempers and it is believed that the persistent discontent over the matter was an element that weighed in the recent dismissal of Attorney General Pam Bondi.
