{"id":18017,"date":"2026-04-09T23:29:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=18017"},"modified":"2026-04-09T23:29:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:29:42","slug":"melania-trump-says-she-was-not-associated-with-jeffrey-epstein-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=18017","title":{"rendered":"“Melania Trump Says She Was Not Associated With Jeffrey Epstein”, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Responding to what she said were smears, the first lady said she never had knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s abuse and was not a victim of his. She called for a congressional hearing for his victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Melania
Melania Trump, the first lady, made an unexpected statement about Jeffrey Epstein at the White House on Thursday.Credit…Evan Vucci\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Shawn McCreesh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting from the White House<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 9, 2026 Updated\u00a06:19 p.m. ET<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leer en espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melania Trump summoned reporters to the White House Thursday afternoon to give a surprise statement about Jeffrey Epstein, saying she had no relationship with him, was not a victim of his and had no knowledge of his crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In remarks that lasted just under six minutes, she said she wanted to clear \u201cmy good name.\u201d She addressed rumors about the origin story of how she met her husband, the president of the United States. And she called on Congress to give a hearing to victims of Mr. Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,\u201d Mrs. Trump said. She talked about \u201cnumerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me\u201d that \u201chave been percolating on social media for years now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not clear why she chose to speak out now, or to what reports she was referring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Mrs. Trump said the president knew that the first lady planned to make a statement, but later said it was not clear if Mr. Trump was aware of the topic of her remarks. In a phone call with\u00a0an MS Now reporter<\/a>, Mr. Trump said he had no prior knowledge of what she had planned to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The White House did not respond to questions about what the president knew on the matter and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first lady\u2019s statement is sure to supercharge a narrative that the Trump administration has been struggling to make go away since last summer, when chunks of the MAGA base broke into open revolt against Mr. Trump over his cavalier handling of the Epstein investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scandal has burbled all year, the president\u2019s supporters refusing to move on from it no matter how many times he instructs them to. Just last week, Pam Bondi lost her job as attorney general in large part over her failure to contain the furor. She is still tangled up<\/a> in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Mrs. Trump said on Thursday may have been designed to clear her own good name, but it certainly won\u2019t help the West Wing escape its Epstein troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first lady started her remarks by recalling the era when she met her husband, and, apparently, Mr. Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDonald 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,\u201d Mrs. Trump explained to the small group of stunned reporters arrayed in the entrance hall of the White House. The first time she ever \u201ccrossed paths with Epstein\u201d was in 2000, she said, \u201cat an event Donald and I attended together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
In February 2000, Donald J. Trump and his girlfriend, Melania Knauss, were photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump\u2019s Florida resort.Credit…Davidoff Studios\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEpstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,\u201d she said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The encounter she was referring to is a story she has told over many years about meeting Mr. Trump in 1998 at the Kit Kat Club. She has always said that it was Paolo Zampolli<\/a>, an Italian modeling agent, who introduced her to Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reached by phone in Milan on Thursday, Mr. Zampolli affirmed Mrs. Trump\u2019s account and said \u201cI\u2019m ready to testify in Congress\u201d that he introduced the couple that night at the Kit Kat Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Zampolli did business with Mr. Epstein and appears several times in the Epstein files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Trump\u2019s name appeared in the Epstein files, too \u2014 another matter she evidently wanted to clear up on Thursday. In a 2002 email written to Ghislaine Maxwell, a woman named \u201cMelania\u201d wrote to Ms. Maxwell to praise a\u00a0profile<\/a>\u00a0of Mr. Epstein in New York magazine. Ms. Maxwell called the woman \u201csweet pea,\u201d and the woman signed her email \u201cLove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, the first lady addressed her correspondence with Ms. Maxwell: \u201cTo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hydra-headed Epstein scandal has ensnared so many people who\u2019ve walked the halls of the White House, and the first lady seemed intent on setting herself apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was never on Epstein\u2019s plane,\u201d she insisted, \u201cand never visited his private island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same cannot be said for her husband, whose name appeared on the flight logs for Mr. Epstein\u2019s plane several times, or for the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, who acknowledged in a Senate hearing earlier this year that he\u2019d traveled to Mr. Epstein\u2019s island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so there the first lady stood on Thursday, trying to distance herself from all things Epstein. She slammed those who would peddle \u201cfalse smears\u201d against her and cited people and publishers who\u2019ve issued public apologies to her in the past. Among them: The Democratic operative James Carville<\/a>; Harper Collins UK<\/a>; The Daily Beast<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe cautious about what you believe,\u201d Mrs. Trump warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shifted the focus to the victims of Mr. Epstein\u2019s crimes. \u201cI call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with the public hearing specifically centered around the survivors,\u201d she said. \u201cGive these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
A \u201cStand With Survivors\u201d rally in support of victims of Jeffrey Epstein at the Capitol last September.Credit…Eric Lee for The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The House Oversight Committee has been investigating Mr. Epstein and the federal government\u2019s handling of the case against him since last year. The inquiry grew from the furor over the Trump administration\u2019s backtracking on a decision to release its full investigative material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in an interview that he agreed with Mrs. Trump\u2019s call for a public hearing, adding that Democrats had been pushing Republicans to hold one for months. He also said that Mrs. Trump\u2019s comments seemed to reject Mr. Trump\u2019s frequent contention that the Epstein investigation was a \u201choax\u201d pushed by Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent months, Mr. Trump has tried to dismiss the Epstein controversy. He told the country it\u2019s time to \u201cmove on\u201d and snapped at a reporter who asked him what his message would be to Mr. Epstein\u2019s victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, his wife struck a different tone: \u201cEvery woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then she turned on her stiletto heels and stalked out as the dazed reporters started shouting after her: \u201cWhy now!? Why now!?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Gold contributed reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shawn McCreesh<\/a> is a White House reporter for The Times covering the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See more on:\u00a0Melania Trump<\/a>,\u00a0Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>,\u00a0Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>,\u00a0Donald Trump<\/a>,\u00a0U.S. Politics<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n