US first lady says she 'never had a relationship' with Epstein

US first lady Melania Trump on Thursday denied any connection to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

"The lies, linking me with a disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein, need to end today," she said at the White House.

She said that while she and her husband, US President Donald Trump, occasionally attended the same social events as Epstein, the overlap was typical of social circles in places like New York City and Palm Beach, Florida.

"To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.

"My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note," she added.

The first lady said she is "not Epstein's victim."

"Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at the New York City Party in 1998," she added.

She urged Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing.

An MS Now reporter said on US social media company X that she had a quick call with Donald Trump after the first lady's statement.

Trump told Jacqueline Alemany that he did not “know anything about” the statement prior to her on-camera appearance.

"She didn’t know him," Trump said, referring to Epstein.

'Schedule a public hearing immediately'

Rep. Robert Garcia, a ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the committee agreed with the first lady's call for a public hearing with Epstein survivors.

"We encourage Chairman (James) Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately," Garcia said.

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in a court in the state of Florida to procuring a minor for prostitution, but critics call the relatively minor conviction a “sweetheart deal.”

The case has remained a politically charged issue in the US, with lawmakers and victims’ advocates from across the spectrum demanding greater transparency about his network of associates and any individuals who may have facilitated his crimes.

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. Their past social and business ties, as well as Epstein’s extensive links to political, business and academic figures in the US and abroad, have fueled calls for the broad release of official records.

Last November, Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into the law, which requires the attorney general, then Pam Bondi, to release to the public the Epstein files in possession of the Department of Justice and FBI.

President Trump announced Bondi's removal last week. She had attracted criticism over a number of issues, including the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers, including Garcia, pressed Bondi to comply with a congressional subpoena and testify before the House Oversight Committee on the handling of records tied to Epstein.

A spokesperson for the Oversight Committee said the Department of Justice indicated Bondi would not appear April 14 because she was subpoenaed in her official capacity.