U.S. First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday forcefully rejected claims tying her to Jeffrey Epstein, calling the allegations false and urging an immediate end to what she described as “lies.”
"The lies, linking me with a disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein, need to end today," she said at the White House.
She said that while she and her husband, U.S. President Donald Trump, occasionally attended the same social events as Epstein, the overlap was typical of social circles in places like New York City and Palm Beach, Florida.
"To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell," she added.
The first lady said she is "not Epstein's victim."
"Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at the New York City Party in 1998," she added.
She urged Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing.
Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a "sweetheart deal."
The case has remained a politically charged issue in the US, with lawmakers and victims' advocates from across the spectrum demanding greater transparency about his network of associates and any individuals who may have facilitated his crimes.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Their past social and business ties, as well as Epstein's extensive links to political, business and academic figures in the U.S. and abroad, have fueled calls for the broad release of official records.
