WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� First lady is denying ties to and knowledge of his sex crimes, saying Thursday that the 鈥渟tories are completely false鈥� and calling accusations that she was somehow involved 鈥渟mears about me.鈥�
Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against 鈥渦nfound and baseless lies鈥� in regards to her connections to the late financier, a convicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his victims and cover up his crimes.
鈥淭he lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he 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.鈥�
The seemingly out-of-the-blue message came as her husband, President , and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran war had become all-consuming in Washington.
The first lady鈥檚 comments almost assuredly will serve to push the story back into the political spotlight even as the president urged the public and media to move on from the case.
Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for the first lady, said the West Wing was aware beforehand that she was making a statement. But he deferred to the West Wing on whether the content of what Melania Trump planned to say was known. The White House press office did not respond to requests for comment.
Calls for a congressional hearing for Epstein victims
The first lady spoke for about five minutes, reading her statement in the Grand Foyer, then walked away without taking questions. She did not go into detail on the accusations against her, but said they came from 鈥渋ndividuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name.鈥�
She added that they were financially and politically motivated.
Melania Trump also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein鈥檚 crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.
鈥淓ach and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hen, and only then, we will have the truth.鈥�
Two of Epstein’s accusers, Maria and Annie Farmer, said in a subsequent statement: 鈥淲hat we want is accountability, transparency, and justice.鈥�
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican and onetime fierce Trump supporter who resigned from Congress after a public falling out with the president, posted on X, 鈥淚 am grateful to the First Lady for her brave statement today about Epstein and his victims.鈥�
Democrats, meanwhile, jumped on Melania Trump’s comments, saying they agreed with her call for a congressional hearing. In a social media post, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee that is investigating Epstein, called on the Republican chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, to schedule a public hearing 鈥渋mmediately.鈥�
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who sponsored a bill prompting the release of millions of Epstein documents, turned attention back to the Justice Department, saying it’s the attorney general’s job to bring in survivors for testimony. Massie, who has pressed for more arrests in the Epstein case, ended a social media post with a call to 鈥淧ROSECUTE!鈥�
Questions about Epstein’s reach have loomed over the administration and divided Republicans, driving a wedge into Trump’s MAGA base as some pressed for the government to release more files and prosecute figures linked to the financier.
The issue has dogged Trump and fractured some of his alliances, including the one with Greene. Trump dismissed the issue as a 鈥淒emocrat hoax鈥� but later signed a bill to release files from Epstein’s case.
It was not clear what prompted the first lady to revive the issue. She noted that several individuals and organizations have had to apologize for their 鈥渓ies about me.鈥� Of the examples she cited, the most recent was in October.
In that case, book publisher HarperCollins UK and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein played a role in introducing her and Donald Trump.
Melania Trump mentioned her husband several times in her comments. She said Epstein did not introduce her to Trump, and that she met her future husband at a New York City party in 1998.
Email to Maxwell was ‘trivial鈥�
The first lady brought Epstein back to the forefront months after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under , the law enacted after that requires the government to on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, .
Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.
Melania Trump said Thursday that 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 鈥渃asual correspondence鈥� without elaborating.
鈥淢y polite reply to her email doesn鈥檛 amount to anything more than a trivial note,鈥� she said.
Among the documents released by the Justice Department was a brief email from 2002 with the sender and recipient blacked out. It begins, 鈥淒ear G!鈥� and ends 鈥淟ove, Melania,鈥� and compliments the recipient on a magazine article about 鈥淛E.鈥�
鈥淚 know you are very busy flying all over the world,鈥� it says. 鈥淗ow was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.鈥�
That email was sent the same month that a New York Magazine article was published about Epstein in which Trump called him a 鈥渢errific guy.鈥�
Among other documents released was an image from Epstein鈥檚 home showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Maxwell.
Epstein in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in New York. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
