Melania Trump steals the show from her husband Donald and unexpectedly appears in front of journalists to have her say on the Epstein case. The first lady breaks her silence until now and denounces the “slander” and “unfounded lies” that falsely link her to Jeffrey Epstein, with whom she “has never been a friend”.
Melania Trump said “she was never aware of his abuse” and rejected any intercession or intermediation of the pedophile financer in the tycoon’s meeting. “I met my husband at a party in New York in 1998,” she said.
Melania Trump’s speech
The first lady made her statement at the White House in front of the cameras, live, to deny the unspecified accusations relating to her and the pedophile financier. “The lies linking me to the vile Jeffrey Epstein must end today. Individuals who lie about me lack ethical standards, humility and respect,” he said.
“I was never involved in any capacity – she added -. I took no part in it, I never got on Epstein’s plane and I never visited his private island”. And again: “False images and statements about Epstein and me” have been circulating on social media “for years now. Be careful what you believe: these images and these stories are completely false – she said -. I have never been legally accused or convicted of any crime in relation to Epstein’s sex trafficking, child abuse or other abhorrent behavior.”
Finally, Melania Trump urged Congress to hold public hearings to “give a voice” to survivors of Epstein’s abuse, in order to “offer these victims the opportunity to testify under oath.”
First Lady Melania Trump’s Statement pic.twitter.com/fSEz24NEyg
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2026
The reasons
It seems that Donald Trump was unaware of his wife’s initiative. The first lady’s words were completely unexpected and it is not clear why she chose to expose herself directly.
Furthermore, in recent days the Epstein case had been “set aside” in the media, the media attention was more on the war in Iran.
Who was Epstein
Epstein was a financier who died while in federal custody in 2019, awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges. The scandal has repeatedly overshadowed Trump’s second presidency. Over the past year, the US Department of Justice has made public large quantities of documents relating to Epstein. The tycoon also denied any link to Epstein’s crimes.