First lady Melania Trump has shut down media claims that the late financier Jeffrey Epstein played a role introducing her to President Trump.
Mrs. Trump’s lawyers have succeeded in forcing a wave of retractions related to claims made by book author Michael Wolff. Mr. Wolff said Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 after being charged with running a sex trafficking ring, had introduced Mrs. Trump to the future president two decades earlier.
Mr. Wolff made the comments about Mrs. Trump during an appearance on “The Daily Beast Podcast” that aired nearly two weeks ago.
“She was very involved in this Epstein relationship,” Mr. Wolff told podcast host Joanna Coles.
He claimed the Trumps met through Epstein.
“She’s introduced by a model agent, both of whom Epstein and Trump are involved with. Epstein knows her well,” Mr. Wolff said.
The Daily Beast, which ran with the claim, retracted and deleted its article after receiving a letter from Mrs. Trump’s attorney “challenging the headline and framing of the article,” an editor’s note said. An editor told journalist Oliver Darcy the article “did not reflect the comments made by Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles on the Daily Beast podcast.”
The editor’s note said The Daily Beast “apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding.”
Mr. Wolff’s reputation has taken a hit over the years after publishing wild, unproven stories about Mr. Trump.
In 2018, he published “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” a book which he said was based on 200 interviews with Mr. Trump and his aides. Mr. Trump attempted unsuccessfully to block the release of the book, which depicted a chaotic White House under his leadership.
Mr. Trump has been highly critical of Mr. Wolff and said he never provided him with interviews. The book, Mr. Trump said, is “full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist.”
On Thursday, Mrs. Trump’s lawyer also forced veteran Democratic strategist James Carville to remove his YouTube video: “The Epstein Connection: Trump and Melania.”
In the Aug. 1 video, Mr. Carville and former journalist Al Hunt spoke to Democratic strategist Judd Legum in an episode that teased it would “delve into the intricate connections” between Mr. Trump, Mrs. Trump and Epstein.
The video is now listed as “unavailable,” and Mr. Carville issued a public apology. He explained after the video was posted that Mrs. Trump’s lawyer fired off a letter.
“He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the First Lady,” Mr. Carville posted on social media. “We took a look at what they complained about and took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back those statements and apologize.”
Democrats have seized on a battle over the release of the government’s files on Epstein, pushing the narrative that Mr. Trump is refusing to release the documents because the material will incriminate him.
Mr. Trump denies it, and his Justice Department and House Republicans have opened investigations seeking to find out the names of any of the men who victimized the girls that Epstein trafficked.
Mr. Trump was friends with Epstein until their falling out in 2004. The Trumps appear in public photos alongside Epstein and his then-girlfriend and accomplice in the sex trafficking ring, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein and Maxwell socialized with a long list of powerful and wealthy individuals, among them the Clintons, Prince Andrew and tech billionaire Bill Gates.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is cooperating with the Justice Department’s probe of an alleged client list.
Epstein did not introduce Mrs. Trump to the president, according to her 2024 self-titled memoir.
Rather, the two met randomly at a New York City nightclub in September 1998 while he was on a date with another woman, she wrote. He asked for her phone number, but instead she got his number and called him a few days later.
“From the moment our conversation began, I was captivated by his charm and easygoing nature,” Mrs. Trump wrote.
The Washington Times has reached out to Mrs. Trump’s press secretary for a comment.
Democrats are determined to keep the Epstein story alive, along with the narrative that Mr. Trump is hiding something.
“It doesn’t take a lot to keep it going,” Mr. Carville, who helped to elect President Clinton, said in a separate podcast. “There are questions everywhere. Can we finally get some answers?”
