{"id":46700,"date":"2026-04-10T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=46700"},"modified":"2026-04-10T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:10:00","slug":"epstein-survivors-criticise-melania-trump-after-surprise-statement-us-politics-live-us-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=46700","title":{"rendered":"Epstein survivors criticise Melania Trump after surprise statement \u2013 US politics live | US news"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Epstein survivors accused Melania Trump of ‘shifting the burden’ after surprise statement<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n

Hello and welcome to the US politics<\/a> live blog.<\/p>\n

Melania Trump has been accused of \u201cshifting the burden\u201d onto sex offender Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s survivors after her extraordinary statement at the White House.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of her statement distancing herself from the disgraced financier, the first lady also called on Congress to take sworn testimony in a public hearing from Epstein victims. Several victims did meet with the House oversight committee in a closed session last fall.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday evening in a joint statement released to the media, a group of survivors said the first lady had moved to \u201cprotect those in power\u201d.<\/p>\n

They accused her of \u201cshifting the burden onto survivors under politicized conditions to protect those with power\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement read:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony.<\/p>\n

Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It added:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>It also diverts attention from [former attorney general] Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers. Survivors have done their part. Now it\u2019s time for those in power to do theirs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The first lady told reporters on Thursday that she \u201cnever had a relationship\u201d with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was unclear which specific accusations spurred the first lady to respond publicly. She delivered her scripted remarks at a podium in the same room Donald Trump<\/a> used to address the nation on the war in Iran last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI [have] never been friends with Epstein,\u201d Trump said in her statement. \u201cI am not Epstein\u2019s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first lady went on to say that she and the president were invited to the same parties as Epstein \u201cfrom time to time\u201d as \u201coverlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach\u201d. But she specifically denied that her emails to Maxwell were anything more than \u201ccasual correspondence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here:<\/p>\n

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In other developments:<\/p>\n