WASHINGTON — Melania Trump’s decision to speak about Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday left many wondering why the first lady chose that particular moment to disavow the sex offender after months of silence on the issue.
“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” she announced in her jaw-dropping statement.
Her closest adviser said the first lady spoke up now because she’s fed up about “lies” being spread about her alleged ties to the deceased criminal.
“First Lady Melania Trump spoke out now because enough is enough,” her senior adviser Marc Beckman told The Post.
“The lies must stop. It is time for the public and media to focus on her incredible achievements as First Lady, the lives she has positively impacted, and her commitment to our nation.”
Melania Trump has spent her second term focusing on her Be Best initiative, her work with children and AI and her work with foster children.
So her out-of-the-blue statement led many to wonder if a story about the first lady and the notorious pedophile was in the works. Many reporters were known to be digging into Epstein’s dealings with both Trumps.
And Melania Trump had never spoken publicly about Epstein until Thursday, even ignoring a shouted question about longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell during an unrelated event in February.
She is known to be meticulous in her planning and strategy, acting with intention instead of surprise.
Photos from the 1990s and early 2000s show the Trumps with Epstein and Maxwell at several parties, including one in Mar-a-Lago in February 2000. Still the ties were severed sometime in the early 2001s and Epstein did not attend the Trumps’ wedding at Mar-a-Lago in 2005.
Melania, on Thursday, admitted to be in the same “social circle” as Epstein but said she knew nothing of his sex trafficking network or other crimes and never visited his notorious island.
The president claimed to be blindsided by his wife’s statement.
He told MSNOW he didn’t “know anything about” it prior to her on-camera appearance. The East Wing had announced the event on Wednesday, about 24 hours before it took place.
Beckman, the first lady’s adviser, told The Post on Wednesday that her statement would be “big” – although neither he nor Melania’s office gave any indication the topic would be Epstein.
Other speculation about the timing revolves around Trump’s lawsuit with author Michael Wolff and whether there is going to be some movement there.
Wolff has publicly speculated that Epstein introduced Melania to Donald Trump in the 1990s – something both the president and first lady have denied.
Melania Trump successfully obtained an apology and retraction from the Daily Beast when Wolff made those allegations on podcast with that publication. She has threatened to sue him. But Wolff filed a suit against her before she could do so and has threatened to depose both Trumps in court.
She has moved to have the Wolff suit dismissed. The first lady has been vigorous in her legal battles to keep her name away from Epstein, filing multiple lawsuits and threatening others, including against former first son Hunter Biden.
“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. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation,” she said on Thursday.
“My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success,” she added.
Trump also successfully won retractions from HarperCollins Publishers and Democratic strategist James Carville.
By making her statement when she did, Melania returned the Epstein case to the spotlight at a time when it was starting to fade away, particularly given the intense news coverage of the Iran war.
But there is another event at the end of April that would have returned Epstein front and center: the state visit of King Charles III of England.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) invited the King to meet with Epstein victims. The King’s brother Andrew lost his titles and standing in England after his detailed correspondence with Epstein was revealed in the Justice Department files released in January.
The King declined to meet with the victims, saying he didn’t want to influence any criminal investigations, but didn’t rule out a future sit-down.
Melania, when asked Thursday if she would meet with the victims, didn’t answer.