Overview
- Following Thursday’s surprise White House statement, Melania Trump said she never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell and rejected claims that Epstein introduced her to the president.
- Hours around that denial, an X account using Amanda Ungaro’s name warned it would reveal Melania Trump’s “hidden connections,” though news outlets say they have not verified the account or its allegations.
- Ungaro, a Brazilian former model and long‑time partner of modeling agent Paolo Zampolli, has said she flew on Epstein’s jet in 2002 at about age 17 with agent Jean‑Luc Brunel and felt uneasy seeing many very young women on board.
- Ungaro was arrested in Miami in 2025 on fraud‑related charges, then held by ICE over an expired visa and deported to Brazil, with DHS stating the removal followed immigration rules and was not political.
- The New York Times reported Zampolli contacted a senior ICE official about Ungaro’s status, which he denies was a bid for favors, and he now says he will testify that he introduced Melania to Donald Trump as reporters probe any evidence Ungaro may produce.