Recently revealed testimony containing Jeffrey Epstein’s own statements has placed First Lady Melania Trump under an unwelcome spotlight, with the late financier asserting he arranged her initial encounter with President Donald Trump and claiming that “the first time he slept with her was on my plane.”
The shocking assertion emerges in judicial records that are part of the extensive Epstein files release, which has captured major attention since the Department of Justice started releasing documents publicly pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The disclosure introduces a profoundly personal element to President Trump’s extensively examined relationship with the disgraced sex offender who took his own life in August, 2019.
First Lady Melania Trump vigorously refuted the allegations in an uncommon public declaration Thursday from the White House. “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” she stated, explaining that she initially encountered her husband at a New York City party in 1998—two years before she ever crossed paths with Epstein. She further maintained she had never flown aboard Epstein’s aircraft or set foot on his private island. “These images and stories are completely false,” she said.
Statements from Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein’s victims, detail social interactions that involved President Trump during the early 2000s. Sjoberg recounted how Epstein’s plane made an unplanned diversion to Atlantic City, with Epstein telling her he would “call up Trump” to visit one of his casinos. The records include no accusations of misconduct by President Trump, and Sjoberg indicated she never gave him a massage.
President Trump publicly separated himself from Epstein since the financier’s arrest in July, 2019. “I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I was not a fan of his,” Trump said at the time. Nevertheless, the president had earlier characterized Epstein as a “terrific guy” who enjoyed the company of beautiful women “on the younger side.”
The records show the FBI carried out a comprehensive investigation following Epstein’s 2019 arrest, but ultimately discovered minimal evidence that the financier operated a sex trafficking ring catering to influential men. Federal agents seized roughly 2,000 videos and 180,000 images from Epstein’s residences in New York, Palm Beach, and the Virgin Islands, but prosecutors observed that no videos or photos depicted victims being sexually abused or implicated anyone else besides Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi generated controversy early in her tenure by asserting an Epstein “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now” during a Fox News appearance. The FBI subsequently explained that no such list existed. Trump fired Bondi on April 2, 2026, with sources citing frustration over her handling of the Epstein files among other issues.
Federal agents informed prosecutors in an email that “four or five” Epstein accusers claimed other men or women had sexually abused them, but there “was not enough evidence to federally charge these individuals.”
The investigation commenced in 2005 when the parents of a 14-year-old girl reported she had been molested at Epstein’s Palm Beach home. Then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta brokered a disputed plea agreement allowing Epstein to serve just 18 months in jail on state charges of soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.
Additional high-profile individuals mentioned in the document release include former President Bill Clinton and former Prince Andrew. Sjoberg testified that Epstein told her Clinton “likes them young, referring to girls.” Prince Andrew faces allegations he touched Sjoberg’s breast during a 2001 encounter at Epstein’s New York home. The prince settled a lawsuit with accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidant who recruited several of his victims, was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking.
UN independent human rights experts released a forcefully worded statement in February, 2026, describing the Epstein files as “disturbing and credible evidence” of possible crimes against humanity. “So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character, and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls, that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity,” the experts stated.
The experts cautioned against moving on too quickly from the scandal. “Any suggestion that it is time to move on from the ‘Epstein files’ is unacceptable,” they said. “No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the public release of government materials related to the case, was signed into law on November 19, 2025. The Justice Department released an initial batch on December 19, 2025, followed by over three million additional pages on January 30, 2026.
Epstein amassed his fortune as a financier and circulated in exclusive social circles that included politicians, academics, and celebrities. Federal prosecutors said Epstein paid victims, some as young as 14, hundreds of dollars to provide sexual services and recruit other young girls.
The White House has not responded to requests for comment regarding Epstein’s claims about the First Lady beyond her public statement Thursday.
