Melania Trump Denies Epstein Links
Few expected it. None were warned. Yet on Thursday afternoon, United States First Lady Melania Trump stepped before cameras in the Grand Foyer of the White House and delivered what observers described as one of the most extraordinary interventions by a sitting first lady in recent American political history, a five-minute, on-camera statement categorically rejecting any association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 55-year-old Slovenian-born former model, who rarely makes unscripted public appearances and is widely regarded as one of the most guarded first ladies Washington has seen in decades, read from a prepared statement without taking questions and walked away when she finished.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.”
Melania Trump was emphatic that she was neither a victim of Epstein nor introduced to her husband through him. “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. The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings,” she said.
She further stated that her name had never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements, or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter, and that she had never been involved in any capacity, never visited his private island, and was never on his plane.
Addressing an apparent email to Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, in which the sender complimented how Maxwell looked in a photo and signed off “Love, Melania,” the first lady described the correspondence as nothing more than casual. “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 timing of the statement caught even those closest to her off guard. President Donald Trump said in a phone call that he did not know about his wife’s statement before she delivered it, though a West Wing spokesperson later said the administration was aware she was making a statement. Several of her aides gathered to watch in the Grand Foyer but did not know in advance what she intended to say.
Senior adviser Marc Beckman offered a brief rationale, saying the first lady decided to speak because “enough is enough” and “the lies must stop.”
The statement was not without political consequence. It came as her husband’s administration had appeared to be moving past more than a year of Epstein-related controversy, with the Iran war consuming Washington’s attention. By addressing the matter publicly, Melania Trump effectively returned it to the centre of political discourse.
She used part of her remarks to call on Congress to provide Epstein survivors with a dedicated public hearing, urging that each woman be given the opportunity to testify under oath and have her account permanently entered into the congressional record.
The response was divided. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, co-author of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, acknowledged the survivors’ call but redirected accountability toward Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, saying it was the Justice Department’s job to act, and criticising former Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to acknowledge survivors who had already testified on Capitol Hill.
Democrat Suhas Subramanyam, who sits on the congressional committee investigating Epstein, called on Melania Trump to go further and “testify under oath” herself.
Epstein survivors Maria and Annie Farmer responded with measured words. “We can’t speak for other survivors, but what we want is accountability, transparency and justice,” the sisters said in a statement to US media. A joint statement attributed to Virginia Giuffre’s brother and others described the speech as “deflection of responsibility,” and accused the Trump administration of failing to fully comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The statement also came roughly six months after author Michael Wolff sued Melania Trump, alleging she had threatened a $1 billion lawsuit over his claims that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump. Melania Trump’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case in January 2026, and a federal judge had yet to rule at the time of her White House address.
Epstein died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on sex-trafficking related charges in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. The Justice Department has since released extensive tranches of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, though lawmakers have complained that the releases remained incomplete.