Melania Trump says she was not one of Epstein's victims

US First Lady Melania Trump has said she never had a relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and said the claims about it are defaming her.

"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," she said in a rare address from the White House.

Ms Trump said she had never had a relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, with whom she said she had only a casual correspondence.

It was not clear why she decided to give the public statement, and she did not detail any specific allegations about her and the late, convicted sex offender.

Files released by the US Justice Department on Epstein include a 2002 email from Ms Trump, to Maxwell about a magazine piece on Epstein.

"You look great," the email says.

Melania and Donald Trump had previously been photographed with Epstein, but she said that she had met her husband independently two years prior to meeting Epstein.

"I am not Epstein's victim," Ms Trump said.

She said "fake images and statements about Epstein and me" had been circulating on social media "for years now.

Be cautious about what you believe: these images and stories are completely false."
The first lady also urged Congress to hold a public hearing for survivors of Epstein's abuse to "give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath."
Two of Epstein's accusers, sisters Maria and Annie Farmer, reacted to the first lady's comments and told US media in a statement: "We can't speak for other survivors, but what we want is accountability, transparency and justice."
The sisters also called for the release of "the remaining records held by the Department of Justice - including my complete FBI records from 1996."
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.

His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.

Read more: The huge haul of powerful figures caught up in Epstein's net
The US Justice Department has over the past year released huge tranches of files related to Epstein.

Mr Trump, 79, has also denied any link to Epstein's crimes.

One widely-seen picture in the files showed Donald and Melania Trump at their Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida along with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

"I have never had any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of his victims.

I was never involved in any capacity.

I was not a participant.

Was never on Epstein's plane, and never visited his private island," Ms Trump said.

"I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behaviour."
Speculation ran riot on social media about why the US first lady had decided to put the Epstein scandal back in the headlines after weeks of relative quiet.

It comes just two days after her husband announced a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, which critics say has left the crucial Strait of Hormuz still largely shuttered by Tehran.

But Ms Trump has long been an elusive and often mysterious presence at the White House, who only rarely gives public remarks of the kind she delivered yesterday.

The last time she was seen with her husband was at an Easter Egg Roll with hundreds of children on Monday.