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Washington: First lady Melania Trump has denied any connection with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein after the so-called Epstein files revealed she had engaged in friendly correspondence with Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said in a rare, solo public statement from the White House.
“The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”
Trump said she was never friends with Epstein, did not have a relationship with him or Maxwell, and was not introduced to her husband, US President Donald Trump, through Epstein, as is commonly claimed.
“I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998,” she said. “Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.”
The Epstein files revealed a 2002 email exchange between Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell in which Trump praised a magazine story about Epstein and told Maxwell she looked great in the photographs.
“I know you are busy flying all over the world. How was Palm Beach?” Trump wrote at the time. “I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.”
The email, before Epstein was ever charged with sexual crimes, was listed by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee among several “disgusting and shocking” revelations to have emerged from the Epstein files.
Melania Trump said on Thursday (US time) that her reply to Maxwell could not be characterised as anything other than casual correspondence.
“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.
More to come
