“I used to be by no means mates with Epstein,” he didn’t introduce me to Trump

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This story is offered as “For nothing, Melania Trump referred to as a press convention to announce that she was by no means mates with Jeffrey Epstein.” Though she referred to as the press on what appeared like a random Thursday, East an enormous historical past. On the one hand, Melania and her husband have been linked to Epstein within the public consciousness for years now. Second, Melania and Jeffrey Epstein knew one another effectively, socialized collectively, and Mel could have even recognized Epstein earlier than assembly Trump. Third, Melania threatened to sue Michael Wolff as a result of he repeatedly claimed, wrote, and insinuated that Melania had in depth ties to Epstein and that Epstein doubtless launched her to Donald Trump (Wolff truly sued Melania for her threats to sue him). So what does Melania say about all this now? GOOD…

Melania Trump summoned reporters to the White Home on Thursday afternoon to make a shocking assertion about Jeffrey Epstein. She mentioned she had no relationship with him, was not one in every of his victims and had no data of his crimes. She mentioned she needed to clear “my fame” and tackle rumors in regards to the story of how she met her husband, the President of the USA.

“The lies that hyperlink me to the shameful Jeffrey Epstein should finish as we speak,” Ms. Trump mentioned. She spoke of “many false photos and statements about Epstein and me” which have “been percolating for years now.”

It isn’t completely clear why she selected to talk out now, or what stories she was referring to. A spokesperson for Mrs. Trump mentioned the president knew his spouse was going to make the assertion. The primary woman ended her look by calling on Congress to grant victims a listening to.

She started her speech by speaking in regards to the time she met her husband and, apparently, Mr. Epstein. “I used to be by no means mates with Epstein. Donald and I have been invited to the identical events as Epstein occasionally, as a result of overlap in social circles is frequent in New York,” Mrs. Trump defined to the small group of shocked journalists organized within the White Home foyer. The primary time she “crossed paths with Epstein” was in 2000, she mentioned, “at an occasion Donald and I attended collectively.”

“Epstein didn’t introduce me to Donald Trump,” she mentioned. “I met my husband by probability. This primary assembly with my husband is documented in my e-book.”

The assembly she was referring to is a narrative she has advised for a few years about assembly Mr. Trump in 1998 on the Equipment Kat Membership. She all the time mentioned it was Paolo Zampolli, an Italian modeling agent, who launched her to Mr. Trump. Mr. Zampolli did enterprise with Mr. Epstein and seems a number of instances within the Epstein information.

Ms. Trump’s identify additionally appeared within the Epstein information – one other matter she clearly needed to clear up on Thursday. In a 2002 e mail to Ghislaine Maxwell, a lady named “Melania” wrote to Ms. Maxwell praising a profile of Mr. Epstein in New York journal. Ms. Maxwell referred to as “Melania” “Candy pea” and “Melania” signed her e mail “Love.” On Thursday, the primary woman addressed her correspondence with Ms. Maxwell: “To be clear, I by no means had a relationship with Epstein or his confederate Maxwell. My e mail response to Maxwell can’t be categorized as something aside from casual correspondence.”

[From The New York Times & transcribed from video]

I am together with the video under, she’s simply studying a ready assertion, and I assume her legal professionals in all probability reviewed it? It will be loopy if his legal professionals did not look into the state of affairs. I do not actually know what to say right here, truthfully. Do I believe Mel is mendacity? In fact. Do I believe she is a few kind of honey lure set by Epstein and/or Vladimir Putin? Uh. One factor I all the time believed about Melania’s early days in New York was that she by no means acquired a lot modeling work and she or he shortly realized that her finest profession choice was to discover a wealthy husband and take an opportunity. I do not suppose anybody compelled Melania into Donald’s path, I believe she put herself in his method as a result of she was attempting to draw somebody like him. This additionally does not cease him from having some kind of relationship with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Photographs courtesy of Backgrid, Getty Photographs, cowl photos, screenshot courtesy of PBS.