The Daily Beast has retracted an article that featured claims from journalist Michael Wolff suggesting that Melania Trump was introduced to Donald Trump through a modeling agent linked to Jeffrey Epstein. The removal followed a formal challenge from the First Lady’s legal team.
“Editor’s Note. After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” the outlet wrote. The original hyperlink now redirects to: https://www.thedailybeast.com/epstein-this-story-has-been-removed/.
Wolff made the allegations during a conversation with Daily Beast chief content officer Joanna Coles on The Daily Beast Podcast this past Saturday. The discussion centered on President Trump’s past ties to Epstein. Though the two were friends for years, Trump later accused Epstein of “stealing staff” from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving minors.
During the interview, Wolff claimed Melania was “very involved in this Epstein relationship.”
“[Melania] was very involved in this Epstein relationship. There is this model thing, and she’s introduced by a model agent, both of whom Trump and Epstein are involved with. She’s introduced to Trump that way, Epstein knows her well,” Wolff stated.
President Trump continues to face pressure from his MAGA base to disclose the contents of the so-called “Epstein files,” particularly after missteps by Attorney General Pam Bondi. In February, Bondi distributed binders titled “Epstein Files: Phase One” to select conservative influencers. However, the materials offered no new revelations — fueling frustration among Trump supporters who have long circulated conspiracy theories that Epstein operated as an intelligence agent involved in sexual blackmail. Some also continue to dispute that Epstein’s death was a suicide.
Bondi later made comments interpreted by some to suggest a full Epstein client list was “sitting” on her desk. She clarified in June that she was referring only to the Epstein file, not a “client list.” The Department of Justice subsequently released a two-page memo stating there was no “credible evidence” of blackmail and denying the existence of such a client list.
Despite the DOJ’s statement, calls for further transparency persist among parts of Trump’s base — reportedly irritating the president.
Trump has since disavowed supporters still focused on Epstein, calling them “weaklings” who have fallen for a “hoax.”
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker, they haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
Wolff’s reliability as a journalist has been questioned in the past. In 2018, he claimed during an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher that President Trump was having an affair and teased that a clue to the woman’s identity was buried in his book Fire and Fury. Readers interpreted this as pointing to then-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who strongly rejected the implication, calling it “disgusting” and “highly offensive.”
During a later appearance on Morning Joe, Wolff denied ever suggesting Haley was involved with Trump — but then added, “I found it puzzling that she would deny something she was not accused of.” Co-host Mika Brzezinski accused Wolff of “having fun… slurring a woman” and abruptly ended the interview.
Additionally, several people quoted in Fire and Fury later denied having said what Wolff had attributed to them.
As journalist Michell Cottle once observed in a New Republic profile:
“The scenes in his columns aren’t recreated so much as created — springing from Wolff’s imagination rather than from actual knowledge of events.”
Michael Wolff told Fox News Digital that he was not involved in writing the now-pulled Daily Beast article.
Both The Daily Beast and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
