Melania Trump deny link to Jeffrey Epstein and call for hearing for survivors

First Lady Melania Trump don deny connections to Jeffrey Epstein as she tell tori pipo say claims wey dey join both of dem "need to end today".

For surprise announcement on Thursday, di first lady bin ginger for congressional hearings for di survivors of Epstein sex trafficking.

She bin also deny online rumours say na Epstein introduce am give Donald Trump sas e call dem "mean spirited attempts to defame my reputation".

E no clear wetin cause dis announcement.

Dis intervention don create mixed response from Epstein survivors. One survivor, Lisa Phillips bin call di staement say e be "bold move" but ask wetin more di first lady fit do to support Epstein accusers.

No indictation bin dey bifor from her office say she wan make statement about Epstein and di White House bin no give topic wen dem list say she go tok for dia daily schedule.

Di president bin tell tori pipo MS Now say e bin no know abount im wife statement bifor e happun. But di New York Times bin quote one tok-tok pesin for Melania Trump say e tok say di president bin sabi say di first lady go make di statement but later dem add say e no clear weda e bin know wetin she bin wan tok about.

Melania Trump tok say she no be victim of Epstein as she bin just briefly cross am for 2000.

She tok say, "I neva sabi anytin about Epstein abuse of im victims. I bin no dey inside at all at all. I no be participant."

She also tok say she no know Ghislaine Maxwell wey be Epstein jailed associate.

She bin call di 2002 email between her and Maxwell wey bin comot for di Epstein files, say na just "casual correspondence" and "polite reply".

Email wey e be like na di one wey she dey tok about na di one wey bin dey addressed to pesin wey dem call "G" wey di reasoning na Ghislaine and include compliments about one tori wey feature "JE" wit picture of G wey comot for New York Magazine. She bin write say"no fit wait" to go Palm Beach.

Di email tok say, "call me wen you go back NY. Have a great time, Love, Melania".

Melania Trump on Thursday also call lawmakers to "give dis victims dem opportunity so dem go fit to testify under oath for front of Congress wit di power of sworn testimony."

She say, "each and evri woman gatz get dia day to tell dia tori in public if she want and den dem go permanently put dia testimony for congessional record. Na only dem we go get di truth".

Plenti big-big business leaders don forcefully resign dia work for recent months afta new tori land about dia connect to Epstein. Dis na sometin wey Melania Trump bin also tok for her remarks.

She say, "of course, dis one no mean guilt but we must to still work openly and transparently to uncover di truth".

She no take kwesions from tori pipo.

For statement wey she release soon afta she tok, California Representative Robert Garcia, wey be di top Democrat for di House Oversight committee tok say "we gree wit Melania Trump call for public hearing".

E ask make di committee chairman, Republican Representative James Comer shake body "to ansa di First Lady request and schedule public hearing now-now".

Phillips follow di BBC Radio 4 Today programme say she shock wit di first lady tok-tok.

Phillips bin add say survivors don alreadi go Capitol to share dia tori and suggest say "private testimony hearing" go dey beta pass anoda public hearing as plenti survivors dey wey don sign non-disclosure agreements or dey fear to "tok about dia abusers".

She bin call on di president wife "to help" survivors to prove say her speech no be just "mere political acting".

Phillips tok say she go "push" Melania Trump make she ansa di question: "Wetin you fit do to move dis along?"

Sky and Amanda Robers wey di family of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, and oda survivors tell BBC Newsnight say dem "don alreadi show ogbonge courage by coming out, filing reports and ginving testimony. To ask for more now na deflection no be justice."

Dem tok dis one for inside statement wia dem accuse di first lady say she dey protect "those wit power" wey include members of her husband administration wey dem tok say still neva release all di Epstein files finish.

Di relationship between di first lady and Epstein don alreadi cause legal kasala.

For October 2025, for instance, HarperCollins UK say e go commot passages from one book wey bin include "unverified" claims say Donald Trump and im wife bin meet through Epstein. Also di Daily Beast bin also comot and apologize for one article wey di pulication later tok say "no meet our standards".

Di first lady also dey inside legal fight wit author Michael Wolff ova one claim for im book Fire and Fury say she bin dey introduced to her husband by one modelling agent wey get link to Epstein.

Wolff bin come counter sue afta she threaten am wit $1bn (£745mn) defamation lawsuit.

Her statement for di White House na very rare tin for di first lady, as she dey seen as elusive and influential since her husband come back White House.

Her tok dey likely to reginger di public debate ova wetin di justice department do wit investigation into Epstein and di release of files.

While Donald Trump don gree say e bin sabi Epstein e later claim say e ban am from im Mar-a-Lago club for Palm Beach, say e be "creep".

Dem mention di president many times for di Epstein files, but dem no write am like say e do wrong.