this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2026
43 points (92.2% liked)

News

37103 readers
1183 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious biased sources will be removed at the mods’ discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted separately but not to the post body. Sources may be checked for reliability using Wikipedia, MBFC, AdFontes, GroundNews, etc.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source. Clickbait titles may be removed.


Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials, videos, blogs, press releases, or celebrity gossip will be allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mods may use discretion to pre-approve videos or press releases from highly credible sources that provide unique, newsworthy content not available or possible in another format.


7. No duplicate posts.


If an article has already been posted, it will be removed. Different articles reporting on the same subject are permitted. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners or news aggregators.


All posts must link to original article sources. You may include archival links in the post description. News aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, Hacker News, etc. should be avoided in favor of the original source link. Newswire services such as AP, Reuters, or AFP, are frequently republished and may be shared from other credible sources.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

First Lady Melania Trump has denied connections to Jeffrey Epstein, telling reporters at the White House that any claims linking the two "need to end today".

In a surprise announcement on Thursday, the first lady called for congressional hearings for survivors of Epstein's sex trafficking.

She also denied online rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, calling them "mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation".

It is unclear what prompted the announcement.

top 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] bearboiblake@pawb.social 33 points 3 days ago

More than a dozen Epstein survivors signed onto a joint letter on Thursday responding to First Lady Melania Trump’s remarks calling on Congress to let them testify.

“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony. Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice,” the letter says.

It continued, accusing the first lady of “shifting the burden onto survivors under politicized conditions that protect those with power: the Department of Justice, law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Trump Administration, which has still not fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”

“It also diverts attention from Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities. Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers,” the letter continues. “Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.”

[–] cybervseas@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It is unclear what prompted the announcement.

Maybe something that is just about to be leaked/announced/shared? One can hope.

[–] starik@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I would be shocked to learn that she was essentially a prostitute trafficked to Trump through Jeffrey Epstein. She and Trump seem to have a real connection, despite neither bothering to learn the other’s language during 21 years of marriage.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 days ago

I would be shocked to learn that she was essentially a prostitute trafficked to Trump through Jeffrey Epstein.

I wouldn't be at all shocked. But it could have been J-L Brunel who trafficked her, and not Epstein.

My impression of her denial was that it was carefully crafted to be true in some pedantic way, while skirting around the more important points. Like it might come out that, though Epstein was standing right there, it was actually Ghislaine who introduced Melanoma to Trump, even if it was Epstein's idea. The "our eyes locked across a crowded room" is improbable, unless she'd been primed with some speculation about Trump's net worth.

[–] borkborkbork@piefed.social 13 points 3 days ago (2 children)

What a fascinatingly strange thing - she's trying to get ahead of something?

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

She dated Epstein before he handed her to Trump. This has been known for many years now. With those idiots it's impossible to know what their game is.

[–] unclejeeves@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Big if true. Do you have a source for that? Not arguing against it. Genuinely curious.

[–] iMastari@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Nope, no ties whatsoever.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

She also denied online rumours that Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump, calling them “mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation”.

It is unclear what reputation she's talking about.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Reputation is important to the First Escort.

[–] IntrovertTurtle@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 days ago

Yeah but she literally has no reputation. I didn't even know her name until Trumps first term. Her entire resume is just 'married to Don' under the 'other skills' section.

[–] Quacksalber@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Trump thought his "little" Iran stunt would burry the epstein business, only to be backstabbed by his own wife. Very nice.

[–] starik@lemmy.zip 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

His people likely wrote the statement she read to the media

[–] Lydon_Feen@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Did they though?

If it doesn't talk about Trump, front and center, I'm sure he didn't clear it.

[–] starik@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 days ago
[–] GutterRat42@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

This is called a prebuttal

[–] Aarrodri@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago