Overview
- Melania Trump, in a rare on‑camera statement Thursday at the White House, said she never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, was not a victim, was not introduced to President Trump by Epstein, and was never on Epstein’s plane or island.
- She pointed to Justice Department disclosures under the Epstein Files Transparency Act and said a 2002 email that reads like “Dear G!” and “Love, Melania” was only casual correspondence about a magazine story.
- The first lady urged Congress to hold a public hearing centered on Epstein survivors and to place any sworn testimony into the Congressional Record.
- A group of Epstein survivors criticized the hearing proposal, saying it shifts the burden back to victims and should instead focus on officials and institutions that handled the probes.
- House Oversight attention grew after the statement as ranking Democrat Robert Garcia pressed Chair James Comer to schedule a public hearing, while the DOJ informed the committee that former Attorney General Pam Bondi would not comply with a subpoena.