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Our first lady has established herself as a queen of lying low, so after Melania Trump strutted into a White House summit with a robot a couple weeks ago, I assumed that would be a wrap on her for a while. She got her time sheet stamped for the spring and was free to retreat back to New York or Palm Beach until she had some new NFTs to sell, I assumed. Instead, Melania is back on our screens already, and, what’s more, she has a lot to say about Jeffrey Epstein and how much she doesn’t know him. Confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a rundown of what exactly is going on with the first lady and the notorious convicted sex offender.

What did Melania Trump say about Epstein?

On Thursday, she surprised the press by delivering a six-minute statement at the White House denying that she knew or had any relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. In the statement, she acknowledged that she had met the two, attended events where they were present, and had emailed with Maxwell, but apparently, none of that constitutes a relationship. She added that it was not Epstein who introduced her to President Donald Trump, she was not a victim of theirs, and she had no knowledge of their crimes. She also called on Congress to give a hearing to Epstein’s victims.

Seems kind of out of nowhere. Was anyone even thinking about her and Epstein?

Yes and no. The Epstein scandal has been Topic A in the news at several points since Trump came back into office, and Melania has taken umbrage before at the........

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