Melania Trump hits out at 'lies' over Jeffrey Epstein links in rare public statement

Melania Trump has said she had 'never been friends with Jeffrey Epstein' in a rare public statement, stating she had no knowledge of his crimes.

Speaking at the White House in a surprise statement today (9 April), the First Lady said she had no knowledge of the disgraced financier's wrongdoing and had never visited his private island, Little St James.

"To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice [Ghislaine] Maxwell," Melania said.

"I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims, I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island."

She went on to add: "I am not Epstein's victim; Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I meet my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998."

Melania's address comes after the Department of Justice released millions of files in relation to the late Epstein earlier this year, who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Attorney General Pam Bondi also released the names of 300 celebrities who were included in the files, which included the likes of Melania's husband and current president of the United States Donald Trump, as well as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Woody Allen.