United States First Lady, Melania Trump, on Thursday forcefully denied any connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, while also calling on Congress to hold public hearings for his victims.
“I’ve 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,” the first lady said. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, (Ghislaine) Maxwell.”
Her remarks appeared to differ from the stance of President Donald Trump and White House officials, who have largely tried to move the country away from the Epstein issue.
According to CNN, Donald Trump knew Melania planned to speak, although he later claimed in an interview that he did not “know anything about” the statement beforehand.
Some White House officials were reportedly surprised by the timing, fearing it would revive attention on the controversy.
However, people close to Melania said she had grown frustrated by online claims linking her to Epstein and wanted to issue a public denial.
“Melania is not political. She doesn’t care about the politics angle of this. She was seeing these stories being amplified and wanted to respond,” one White House official said.
Melania also called on lawmakers to hear directly from survivors.
“I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors, give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony,” Trump said.
“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record.”
Her call received support from both parties, including Rep. Robert Garcia and Rep. Tim Burchett.
Melania also addressed her past contact with Ghislaine Maxwell, describing a 2002 email exchange as “casual” and a “polite reply.”
She stressed that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
“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. I was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” she said, describing his actions as “repulsive.”
