US First Lady Melania Trump denies connection to Epstein in rare speech

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During the brief address on Thursday, Melania referenced years-long speculation over her connection with Epstein, as she called for Congress to hold a hearing for Epstein survivors. She maintained that she was not a “victim” of Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was later ruled a suicide. The first lady also denied having a friendship with Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021, after a 2002 email between the pair resurfaced. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorised as anything more than casual correspondence,” she said. That email, which was partially redacted, was released this year by the Department of Justice alongside millions of files related to the agency’s investigation into Epstein. The release was compelled by a law passed by Congress last November, amid ongoing speculation about Epstein’s influential social circle, which included President Donald Trump. President Trump has acknowledged a past friendship with Epstein but has denied any knowledge or involvement in criminal activity. His name appears thousands of times in the released documents. During Thursday’s statement, the first lady focused heavily on reports and rumours that she had met Trump on Epstein’s private plane in 2000. That included a Daily Beast report, which cited the transcript of an interview between a former Epstein assistant and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), released as part of the Epstein files. Melania has said she met Trump at a party in 1998, two years before she met Epstein at an event with Trump. “My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter,” she said. “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. Was never on Epstein’s plane and never visited his private island.” The first lady added that she and her lawyers have “fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success”. Democratic political strategist James Carville and publisher HarperCollins UK last year issued apologies for statements on Melania and Epstein’s relationship. Author Michael Wolff sued the first lady last year after he said he was threatened with legal action for his writing related to her relationship with Epstein. It was not immediately clear why Melania chose Thursday to make the rare public statement. While some lawmakers have repeatedly charged that the Department of Justice has not released all of the Epstein files, public attention has been largely diverted by the US-Israeli war with Iran. Still, members of Congress continue to probe Epstein’s crimes. Last week, Trump abruptly fired US Attorney General Pam Bondi, in what some saw as an effort to move beyond the scandal. Melania did not point to any inciting incident that motivated her to speak, saying only, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.” Finishing the address, Melania joined bipartisan lawmakers who have called for a public hearing in Congress for Epstein survivors. Both the US House of Representatives and Senate remain controlled by Trump’s Republican Party. To date, no one beyond Epstein and Maxwell have been charged in the US for crimes related to the sex-trafficking ring the pair led. “I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimised by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centred around the survivors. Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony,” Melania 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. 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