{"id":350717,"date":"2026-04-10T18:19:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T23:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/melania-trump-adviser-speaks-on-what-led-to-her-surprise-epstein-statement"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T23:19:55","slug":"melania-trump-adviser-speaks-on-what-led-to-her-surprise-epstein-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/melania-trump-adviser-speaks-on-what-led-to-her-surprise-epstein-statement","title":{"rendered":"Melania Trump adviser speaks on what led to her shock Epstein assertion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">A senior adviser to first lady Melania Trump, Marc Beckman, said she wanted to &#8220;set the record straight&#8221; when she delivered her <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/melania-trump-declares-epsteins-victim\/story?id=131891150\" dir=\"ltr\">surprise statement<\/a> at the White House denying any ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Beckman elaborated on the first lady&#8217;s decision to publicly address the Epstein controversy during an appearance Friday morning on &#8220;Fox <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Friends.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If she can&#8217;t stick up for herself, if she can&#8217;t defend herself and make sure that her reputation is impeccable, who will do it? Nobody&#8217;s done it to date,&#8221; Beckman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;She&#8217;s ready to fight,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The press was not given advance notice on the topic of the first lady&#8217;s Thursday remarks, in which she said she never had any knowledge of Epstein&#8217;s crimes and that she had no relationship with Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, his co-conspirator who was convicted of sex trafficking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The first lady also called for public hearings into the Epstein controversy and to allow survivors to testify before Congress if they wish to do so.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,&#8221; Melania Trump said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A spokesperson for the first lady&#8217;s office said the West Wing was aware she would make a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But sources told ABC News that White House officials were caught off guard by the topic of her address, with some questioning why she was commenting on the subject now.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oLzSq QrHMO fnRUo pvsTF EhJPu vPlOC zNYgW OsTsW RMeqy daRVX ISNQ sKyCY eRftA acPPc MENS nFwaT MCnQE mEeeY SmBjI xegrY rPLsU iulOd NIuqO zzscu lzDCc aHUBM IEgzD OjMNy eQqcx SVqKB GQmdz jaoD VWDdR ONJdw vrZxD OnRTz gbbfF roDbV GPGwb oMlSS gfNzt oJhud eXZcf zhVlX \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"InlineImage GpQCA lZur asrEW \" data-testid=\"prism-inline-image\">\n<figure class=\"kzIjN GNmeK pYrtp dSqFO \" data-testid=\"prism-figure\">\n<div class=\"GpQCA lZur gIjeL \" data-testid=\"prism-ratio-frame\">\n<div class=\"FvQLF iLTd NqeUA UzzHi iWsMV \"><picture data-testid=\"prism-picture\"><source media=\"(max-width: 414px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/39561d5c-c637-48da-b1df-434e7c15cbaa\/melania-trump-1-rt-gmh-260409_1775759877890_hpMain.jpg?w=375, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/39561d5c-c637-48da-b1df-434e7c15cbaa\/melania-trump-1-rt-gmh-260409_1775759877890_hpMain.jpg?w=750 2x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 415px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/39561d5c-c637-48da-b1df-434e7c15cbaa\/melania-trump-1-rt-gmh-260409_1775759877890_hpMain.jpg?w=750, https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/39561d5c-c637-48da-b1df-434e7c15cbaa\/melania-trump-1-rt-gmh-260409_1775759877890_hpMain.jpg?w=1500 2x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Congress\" alt=\"Congress\" class=\"hsDdd NDJZt sJeUN IJwXl vBqtr KrDt itslR SjwtZ hakZw HlUVI \" data-testid=\"prism-image\" draggable=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/39561d5c-c637-48da-b1df-434e7c15cbaa\/melania-trump-1-rt-gmh-260409_1775759877890_hpMain.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>\n<div class=\"nMMea bNYiy Mjgpa dGwha DDmxa jgKNG RGHCC aBIU PriDW lZur \" data-testid=\"prism-caption\">\n<p><span class=\"hsDdd OOSI GpQCA lZur VlFaz \" data-testid=\"prism-truncate\"><span><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ \">First lady Melania Trump delivers remarks in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, April 9, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"gtOSm FbbUW tUtYa vOCwz EQwFq yCufu eEak Qmvg nyTIa SRXVc vzLa jgBfc WXDas CiUCW kqbG zrdEG txGfn ygKVe BbezD UOtxr CVfpq xijV soGRS XgdC sEIlf daWqJ YNujN JGtjI aZFDu rkKLh \">Evan Vucci\/Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">President Donald Trump said he did not know the first lady was going to make a statement today about Epstein, according to an MS Now reporter who said she had a brief phone interview with the president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Asked by ABC News for clarification, a spokesperson for the first lady directed any questions about Trump\u2019s knowledge about her statement to the West Wing. But the White House has said any questions related to the statement should come from her office.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">President Trump has tried to shift focus away from the Epstein controversy, repeatedly calling it a &#8220;Democratic hoax.&#8221; Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, in a recent interview, said the Epstein files matter &#8220;should not be a part of anything going forward&#8221; at the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Beckman was asked on &#8220;Fox <!-- -->&amp;<!-- --> Friends&#8221; why Melania Trump decided to come forward at this moment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;First, enough is enough. This has been ongoing and it&#8217;s time for the public to refocus their attention on what achievements our first lady has done,&#8221; Beckman said, pointing to her foster care and education initiatives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Beckman echoed the first lady&#8217;s comments that fake images and stories about her and Epstein have circulated for years, prompting her to come out and address them &#8212; despite headlines in recent weeks moving on from the Epstein files.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;The first lady accomplished three things yesterday as it relates to the disgraceful Epstein,&#8221; he said. &#8220;First, she cleared her record. She set the record straight. She debunked all of the lies surrounding her and Epstein. Second, she became a champion for these women, for the victims. Finally, third, she is a real leader in Washington, D.C. She is calling on Congress to act now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">ABC News asked the White House if the president agrees with the first lady that Epstein&#8217;s victims should testify before Congress but has not gotten a response.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A group of 13 Epstein survivors and the brother and sister-in-law of another accused the first lady of &#8220;shifting the burden onto survivors,&#8221; rather than pushing for accountability.<!-- -->\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;Survivors have done their part. Now it\u2019s time for those in power to do theirs,&#8221; they said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"><em class=\" \">ABC News&#8217; Rachel Scott and Isabella Murray contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/melania-trump-adviser-speaks-led-surprise-epstein-statement\/story?id=131918888\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A senior adviser to first lady Melania Trump, Marc Beckman, said she wanted to &#8220;set the record straight&#8221; when she delivered her surprise statement at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":350720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1674,5298,3322,616,27433,9487,609,1988,3185,9318,270],"class_list":["post-350717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-congress","tag-ghislaine-maxwell","tag-guard","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-marc-beckman","tag-melania-trump","tag-president","tag-rachel-scott","tag-tackle","tag-todd-blanche","tag-washington-d-c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350717"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350719,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350717\/revisions\/350719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}