US Politics
Melania bristles at Epstein question when confronted by reporter at event to honor Israeli hostages
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First Lady Melania Trump quickly brushed off a question lobbed at her concerning notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, during an event at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump welcomed reporters to the White House to receive her remarks after her Wednesday meeting with American-Israeli Keith Siegel and his wife, Aviva, who was freed from Hamas captivity as part of a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire. The event marked the anniversary of his release.
During a short round of questions from the press after the meeting, CNN’s Betsy Klein asked Trump about calls from the public to move Maxwell, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, into a high-security prison.
Trump shot back with a quick dismissal of the question.
“We are here celebrating the release and the life of these two incredible people. So let’s honor that, thank you,” she replied.
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Klein’s question comes just days after the Justice Department released a tranche of 2.5 million Epstein documents. Among those files was an email apparently addressed to Maxwell that was signed “Love Melania.”
The testy exchange also followed on the heels of the premiere of Melania, an Amazon-produced documentary about the first lady in the lead-up to her return to the White House.
The Siegels are both featured in the documentary, which premiered at the Kennedy Center last week. When asked by reporters if she was using the meeting to promote her new movie, she said the meeting has “nothing to do with promotion.”
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The files also include several tips to the FBI mentioning President Donald Trump and Epstein, but none of the information in those tips has been substantiated, and the president has not been accused of or charged with any crimes relating to his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
The first lady isn’t the only Trump to snap at a CNN reporter for asking questions about Epstein this week.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump disparaged CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after she asked him questions about the Epstein files.
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Trump was taking questions from the press in the Oval Office when Collins asked him about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk — both associates of the president — appearing in the files.
The president brushed it off, saying “they’re fine,” after which Collins asked him if some of the redactions in the files were protecting individuals involved in the abuse of Epstein victims.
Trump became irate, called Collins the “worst reporter,” and complained that he has never “seen a smile” on her face.
