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It was such, and I don’t say this lightly, a jaw-dropping moment.
I’m sitting here with the TV on and suddenly there’s a live shot of Melania Trump, reading a speech at the White House.
Talk about Jeffrey Epstein. A speech about how he was anointed about a deceased child abuser.
None of the reporters knew what to say. First lady, talking about Epstein. Reporters were told that he would comment, but not the issue. Only that it will be news.
EPSTEIN’S LAWYER ‘DOES NOT KNOW’ OF ANY LONG-TERM SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS TRUMP HAS, COMER SAYS.
First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
“I have never had a relationship with Epstein or his partner, [Ghislaine] Maxwell. My email response to Maxwell cannot be classified as casual correspondence. My polite reply to his email is nothing more than a travel letter. I am not a victim of Epstein. Epstein was not silent on Donald Trump. “I met my husband by chance at an event in New York City in 1998,” said the first wife in her speech.
There was pain in his voice. The three-minute speech, delivered in his fluent English, was not easy for him.
When the Epstein files were released, there were letters between Maxwell, who called her “Sweet Pea,” and Melania signed “Love.” It’s not a big deal.
I didn’t know there were rumors about Melania Trump and Epstein. It seemed obvious that the first lady was trying to get out before something – but so what?
This had the feel of an iceberg title.
They first crossed paths in 2000: “I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal activities. Many false photos and statements about me and Epstein have been circulating. [circulating]on social media for years now. Be careful what you believe. These pictures and stories are completely false.”
Epstein pleaded guilty to sexual assault in 2008 and served a 13-month minimum sentence in Florida. And Donald Trump knew about his relationships with teenage girls, as he called Palm Beach authorities about it in 2006.
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Nevertheless, Melania said, “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I have never been involved in any capacity. I have never participated. I have never been on Epstein’s plane and I have never visited his private island. I have never been formally charged or convinced [convicted] for crimes related to Epstein. Sex trafficking, child abuse and other heinous behavior. The false statements about me from malicious and politically motivated people and organizations that want to damage my good name, financial gain and political rise, must stop.”
He added that he and his lawyers have “successfully fought these baseless and baseless lies.”
President Donald Trump reportedly called the Palm Beach, Florida, Police Department in 2006 to thank them for investigating Jeffrey Epstein. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
The New York Times’ response: “It was unclear why he chose to speak now, or what reports he was referring to.”
NBC’s Garrett Haake tweeted that the speech “breathes new life into the Epstein saga.”
By the way, it was not a news conference, as the Washington Post and other outlets have been calling it. He didn’t ask questions.
The chief adviser of the first lady, Marc Beckman, in a statement noted by NBC that he is speaking now because “enough is enough” and “the lies must stop.”
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Needless to say, this is setting the story back in the media narrative – and at a time when it finally seemed to be fading as the world’s attention turned to the war on Iran and ending the war.
Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he agrees with the first lady and wants to “schedule a public hearing immediately.”
Republican chairman James Comer, who recently called Hillary Clinton to testify about Epstein, canceled Pam Bondi’s planned deposition after she was fired as attorney general.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump participate in calls to US service members, on Christmas Eve, from the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Dis. 24, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
When Bondi testified in the impeachment trial, he spent his time attacking Democrats and refused to turn to face the victims sitting behind him.
Todd Blanche, his likely successor and now acting attorney general, said there was no need for the DOJ to do anything else against Epstein. Blanche, who interviewed Epstein’s convicted aide Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later transferred to a maximum-security prison, also declared her love for the president.
But the last thing Donald Trump wants is a new media spotlight on Epstein’s victims.
So there is clearly some kind of contempt going on.
What is unclear is why Melania Trump decided to present this speech at the White House rather than, say, issuing a statement.
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Are there any suspicions, true or false, that he is trying to relieve? There’s a lot we don’t know yet.
But like everyone who watched, or has seen the clips, I look at it as an amazing moment in a management that works for them with amazing regularity.
