First lady Melania Trump appeared for a surprise White House address on Thursday, declaring that she had no ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his crimes. The 55-year-old noted that ‘stories are completely false’, further calling online accusations that she was somehow involved ‘smears about me’. However, this statement only comes after veteran journalist Michael Wolff made a bombshell claim about Epstein being the one to introduce her to President Donald Trump.
"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. 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," she said.
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“My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success.”
Why Melania Trump issued a statement
Michael Wolff, who countersued the first lady after she threatened a $1 billion lawsuit against him, had spoken about Melania's potential defense back in January this year. In his substack article, the journalist wrote that Melania is ‘not worried’.
The piece was titled: ‘Melania Trump Probably Isn’t Worried About Me’.
{{/usCountry}}The piece was titled: ‘Melania Trump Probably Isn’t Worried About Me’.
{{/usCountry}}Wolff added that the first lady ‘does not believe she will have to sit through a deposition conducted by my lawyers and answer questions about Jeffrey Epstein’.
“Her lawyers, to the extent that they discuss anything with her, have undoubtedly assured her of that: It won’t happen, because, well, it can’t happen. (These lawyers would likely be fired if they said otherwise.),” he stated.
However, Wolff added that ‘if it did happen'… ‘No, neither her lawyers, nor White House staff, the first lady and the president themselves can even begin to imagine what that would entail’.
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“The Trumps’ friends from the 1990s; Melania’s fellow models; the modeling agents who hired her and others; Epstein friends and victims—all of these people speaking under oath, forced to describe a world and life that would be incomprehensible, unimaginable, and abhorrent to the American people.”
Trump's Epstein link back in the spotlight
Melania's out-of-the-blue message came just as her husband, President Trump, and his administration had finally appeared successful in moving beyond the Epstein controversy, which had sent shockwaves through the nation's politics for months.
The case had begun to be overshadowed by the war in Iran and other major issues - but the first lady's comments might push it back into the political spotlight.
The first lady said she was not friends with Epstein or Maxwell but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as "casual correspondence" without elaborating.
"My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trifle," she said.
(With AP inputs)