A group of Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is calling on first lady Melania Trump to testify before Congress as part of their probe into the crimes of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a rare statement on Thursday, Trump called Epstein “disgraceful” and denied any ties to him and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence tied to the sex trafficking case.
“If the First Lady wants to clear her name, she should come before the Oversight Committee and testify under oath,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) wrote on social platform X. “Otherwise, this is just a shameless book promotion.”
The committee has led a probe into Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial, and subpoenaed high-profile figures it believes have knowledge of his crimes to testify.
The first lady acknowledged a “casual” email she sent Maxwell during her remarks from the White House, saying it “cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.”
A 2002 email included in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after President Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law compliments “G” on her photograph in an article about Epstein in New York Magazine and is signed off, “Love, Melania.”
The president also has a documented friendship with Epstein but denies any knowledge of his crimes. The first lady also pushed back against suggestions that Epstein introduced the two of them.
“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” she said Thursday.
Melania Trump urged Congress to set up a public hearing “specifically centered around the survivors.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the committee, expressed his support for this hearing.
“We agree with First Lady Melania Trump’s call for a public hearing with the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein,” Garcia posted on X. “We encourage Chairman Comer to respond to the First Lady’s request and schedule a public hearing immediately.”
Survivors of Epstein’s crimes called the suggested congressional hearing “a deflection of responsibility, not justice.”
In a public statement Thursday, they accused the federal government of failing to fulfill its responsibility under law. The Epstein Files Transparency Act required the DOJ to release all files related to its investigation into Epstein, with appropriate redactions made to preserve victim privacy.
“Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers,” the survivors said. “Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who helped lead a bipartisan push for the documents, responded to the first lady’s statement in an interview with MS NOW later Thursday.
“She needs to call on her husband to get the remainder of the files released,” he said. “She needs to call on [acting Attorney General Todd] Blanche to have investigations, and the survivors are absolutely right that the burden should not be on them.”
Khanna added that he “absolutely” supports an Oversight hearing with Melania Trump, citing her statement that “Epstein was not alone” in his crimes.
“She has relevant information,” the California Democrat said. “If she didn’t have relevant information, how could she say that Epstein was not acting alone? So, it is relevant to the investigation.”
