Melania Trump stood at a podium in the same room Donald Trump used to address the nation on the war in Iran last week to make an announcement: she “never had a relationship” with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
It was unclear which specific accusations spurred Trump to respond publicly. The first lady went on to say that she and the president were invited to the same parties as Epstein “from time to time” as “overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.”
That claim is undermined by the fact that the most well-known images of the two couples together were taken at Trump’s own club, Mar-a-Lago, on 12 February 2000.
Adding to the swirl of confusion over the reasoning behind the first lady’s statement are reports the president has been telling reporters he had no idea his wife would give them. A spokesperson for the first lady initially told the New York Times the president knew his wife planned to make a statement. That report was later updated to note that the spokesperson “later said it was not clear if Mr. Trump was aware of the topic of her remarks”.
US congressional leaders seized on the first lady’s call for Congress to take sworn testimony in a public hearing from Epstein victims.
“We agree with First Lady Melania Trump’s call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein,” said Robert Garcia of California, ranking member of the House committee on oversight. “We encourage Chairman Comer to respond to the first lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately.”
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