Overview
- Melania Trump, speaking at the White House on Thursday, said she was never friends with Jeffrey Epstein, never flew on his planes or visited his island, and described a 2002 reply to Ghislaine Maxwell as casual correspondence.
- Released records include a short 2002 email that opens with “Dear G!” and closes “Love, Melania” and references a magazine piece about “JE,” as well as a 2000 photo of Donald Trump, Melania, Epstein and Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago.
- She urged Congress to hold a public hearing where Epstein’s survivors testify under oath, a call welcomed by Democrats such as Rep. Robert Garcia, while some Republicans questioned the step and pressed for prosecutions instead.
- Reports differ on whether President Trump was briefed beforehand, with the president telling a reporter he knew nothing and other outlets citing sources who say he was aware.
- The new coverage adds attention but no evidence of criminal conduct by the First Lady, as many Epstein files remain heavily redacted and some survivors criticized her hearing push as shifting the burden back onto victims.