First Lady Melania Trump broke years of silence Thursday, delivering a rare and forceful live address from the White House to categorically deny any personal or professional relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the First Lady used the platform to demand Congressional hearings for Epstein’s survivors, the event was immediately overshadowed by conflicting reports regarding President Donald Trump’s prior knowledge of the speech.
In a sharp departure from her typically private demeanor, the First Lady, 55, described allegations linking her to Epstein as “politically motivated smears” intended to defame her reputation.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she stated. “I have never been friends with Epstein.”
Addressing long-standing rumors that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, she clarified that their first meeting occurred at a 1998 party, an account detailed in her memoir. She maintained she did not encounter Epstein until a social event in 2000 while accompanied by Trump, asserting that “overlapping social circles” in New York and Palm Beach made occasional proximity unavoidable.
The address appears to have created a narrative rift within the West Wing. President Trump, 79, told MS NOW journalist Jacqueline Alemany that he “did not know anything” about his wife’s statement before she took the podium.
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However, sources familiar with the situation informed CNN that the President was, in fact, aware of the planned address. The First Lady’s office had sent an email to media outlets on Wednesday afternoon announcing a 2:30 p.m. ET statement, though it did not specify the subject matter.
Beyond Epstein, the First Lady addressed the emergence of her name in “Epstein files” regarding correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell. She dismissed an email exchange with Maxwell—who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021—as “casual” and “trivial,” denying any substantive relationship with the former socialite.
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“I’ve never had any knowledge of his abuse of victims,” she said, emphasizing that she is not a witness in any related legal proceedings.
The statement has already catalyzed movement on Capitol Hill. During her remarks, the First Lady called on Congress to hold public hearings featuring sworn testimony from Epstein’s survivors.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, immediately signaled his support for the proposal. Garcia urged Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to schedule the hearings “immediately,” turning the First Lady’s personal defense into a potential legislative flashpoint.
