US First Lady Melania Trump has stated that she never had any connection with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and described claims suggesting otherwise as defamatory.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said in a rare address from the White House, reports RTE.
Ms Trump said she had no relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, adding that any interaction with Maxwell had been limited to casual correspondence.
It was unclear what prompted her to make the public statement, and she did not point to any specific allegations involving herself and the late convicted sex offender, reports RTE.
Documents made public by the United States Department of Justice related to Epstein include a 2002 email from Ms Trump to Maxwell about a magazine feature on Epstein. “You look great,” the email says,
Melania and Donald Trump had previously been photographed with Epstein, though she maintained that she met her husband independently two years before encountering Epstein, reports RTE.
“I am not Epstein’s victim,” Ms Trump said,
She said “fake images and statements about Epstein and me” had been circulating on social media “for years now. Be cautious about what you believe: these images and stories are completely false,” reports RTE.
The first lady also called on Congress to organise a public hearing for survivors of Epstein’s abuse, saying it would “give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath.”
Two of Epstein’s accusers, sisters Maria Farmer and Annie Farmer, responded to the first lady’s remarks, telling US media in a statement: “We can’t speak for other survivors, but what we want is accountability, transparency and justice,” reports RTE.
The sisters also urged the release of “the remaining records held by the Department of Justice – including my complete FBI records from 1996,” reports RTE.
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges involving the sex trafficking of minors. His death that same year in a jail cell in Manhattan was ruled a suicide.
Over the past year, the United States Department of Justice has released extensive batches of files connected to Epstein. Mr Trump, 79, has also denied any association with Epstein’s crimes, reports RTE.
One widely circulated photograph from the files showed Donald and Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago resort alongside Epstein and Maxwell.
“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,” Ms Trump said,
“I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behaviour,” reports RTE.
Speculation surged across social media regarding why the US first lady chose to bring the Epstein controversy back into focus after several weeks of relative quiet.
This comes just two days after her husband announced a ceasefire related to the Strait of Hormuz tensions, which critics say remains largely restricted by Iran, reports RTE.
However, Ms Trump has long remained a reserved and somewhat enigmatic figure at the White House, rarely delivering public statements like the one she gave recently.
The last time she appeared publicly with her husband was during an Easter Egg Roll attended by hundreds of children on Monday, reports RTE.
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