By Mallory Wilson, The Hill, Diana Falzone | Source

First lady Melania Trump made a statement at the White House on Thursday to slam reports about any connections she may have had with Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

She also called on Congress to allow testimony from Epstein victims and to enter them into the official record. She denied being a victim herself and said an email exchange with Maxwell amounted to a “trivial note.”

She also called Epstein “disgraceful” and called for “lies” about her association with him to end “today.”

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect,” Trump said from the White House’s Grand Foyer. “I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

The first lady referenced a “casual” email she sent to Maxwell, saying it “cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.”

An email that was part of the millions of Epstein documents released by Congress showed Trump emailing Maxwell in October 2002 complimenting her on an article written about Epstein in New York Magazine.

She signed off the email with “Love, Melania.”

The first lady said she was never friends with Epstein, only that she and President Trump ran in the same circles as him in New York and Palm Beach.

She also pushed back on the notion that Epstein introduced her to her husband.

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” the first lady said, adding that she met her husband at a party in New York.

She called on Congress to provide the victims of Epstein with a public hearing “specifically centered around the survivors.”

“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional Record,” she said. “Then, and only then, will we have the truth.”

She said she was never involved in any sex trafficking, and that she never flew on Epstein’s plane or visited his private island.

The first lady said she and her attorneys have fought against “these unfounded and baseless lies with success” and will continue to do so.

The statement came at time when conversations surrounding Epstein and the president’s ties to him have mostly died down.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s allegations and has said repeatedly that the two had a falling out years ago. He grew frustrated with the constant conversation surrounding Epstein and in November flipped from resisting the release of the files to signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November.

Democratic lawmakers were quick to agree with Mrs. Trump’s call for a public hearing.

Rep. Ro Khanna, (D-Ca.), and the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee that has been investigating Epstein, tagged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in his X post.

“What say you @Speaker Johnson?” he wrote.

The committee has heard from notable names that have had ties to Epstein in one way or another, including both former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Businessman Bill Gates is expected to appear in June to testify.

Thursday evening, NewsNation received a response to the first lady’s comments from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein.

“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony. Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.

“First Lady Melania Trump is now shifting the burden onto survivors under politicized conditions that protect those with power: the Department of Justice, law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Trump Administration, which has still not fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“It also diverts attention from Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities. Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers. Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.”

The statement was signed by Danielle Bensky, Liz Stein, Marijke Chartouni, Amanda Roberts, Sky Roberts, Jane Doe, Sharlene Rochard, Jess Michaels, Jane Doe, Maria Farmer, Lara Blume McGee, Rachel Benevidez, Juliette Rose Bryant, Marina Lacerda and Annie Farmer.

Arick Fudali, who represents 11 Epstein survivors, also spoke about Trump’s statement, saying, “I’m certainly for public hearings centered around the survivors’ best interest, but this administration has demonstrated the opposite in the way they have handled both the public hearings and the release of the documents. Nothing as of yet from this administration has been ‘centered around the survivors.’”