U.S. first lady Melania Trump delivers remarks regarding the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein from the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday (April 9, 2026) denied ever having a relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and said the claims about it are defaming her. “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” Melania Trump said in a rare address from the White House.
She said she had never had a relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, with whom she said she had only a casual correspondence. “I am not Epstein’s victim,” Melania Trump said. Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.
Published – April 10, 2026 12:28 am IST
