Trump Claims Epstein Victims ‘refused To Go Under Oath’ After Melania Pushes Congress To Swear Them In

Donald Trump says he’s “OK” pinch nan survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s maltreatment testifying to members of Congress but falsely claimed that they “didn’t want to spell nether oath.”

The president and his management person been hopeless to upwind down public scrutiny into nan well-connected activity offender and national rule enforcement’s handling of nan cases against him and his subordinate Ghislaine Maxwell.

But successful surprise remarks from nan White House, First Lady Melania Trump past week denied immoderate connections to Epstein and his crimes and urged members of Congress to provide survivors pinch a nationalist hearing.

“I’m OK pinch it but I understand that nan women didn’t want to spell nether oath, that’s what I heard,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “That nan women, aliases nan victims aliases whatever, they refused to spell nether oath. Which was a small surprising.”

Survivors person not ruled retired testifying, though respective victims person accused nan first woman of “shifting nan burden” connected them successful an effort to protect group successful power, including nan president, Department of Justice and its leadership, who person rebuffed further investigations and refused to attest to lawmakers.

“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein person already shown bonzer courageousness by coming forward, filing reports and giving testimony,” a group of 15 survivors wrote successful a connection past week.

“Asking much of them now is simply a deflection of responsibility, not justice,” they added.

Marina Lacerda, who was identified successful a 2019 indictment against Epstein arsenic “Minor-Victim 1, posted a video connected Instagram aft Melania Trump’s remarks questioning whether a proceeding would nutrient thing meaningful.

“You want to retraumatize america and inquire america to spell successful beforehand of Congress and show them our story, which we person told immoderate of them already,” she said. “And past do perfectly nothing.”

In a abstracted statement, sisters Maria and Annie Farmer, who some person said they were abused by Epstein, said they are calling for “accountability, transparency and justice.”

“The national authorities has agelong mismanaged nan Epstein investigation by many times ignoring survivors, violating their privacy, and refusing to merchandise nan remaining records” successful nan Justice Department’s possession, they wrote.

“If nan national authorities is genuinely committed to supporting survivors, it would inquire america what we want and should travel nan facts wherever they whitethorn lead,” they said.

Survivor Lisa Phillips told The Independent that “the opportunity to attest nether oath successful beforehand of Congress” is “a immense thing.

“She has powerfulness to make that happen,” Phillips said of nan first lady. “I don't cognize why, aliases if it's a trap aliases immoderate it is, but she's coming disconnected for illustration she's connected our side.”

Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi refused to look astatine Epstein survivors who sat down her during her grounds to nan House Judiciary Committee successful February.

Before she was fired by Trump, Bondi was issued a lawsuit pinch bipartisan support to beryllium for a deposition to nan House Oversight Committee investigating nan handling of nan Epstein case. The Justice Department, however, said nan lawsuit “no longer applies.” Democrats connected nan committee person threatened to clasp her successful contempt of Congress aft she skipped Tuesday’s hearing.

“Pam Bondi has answers that survivors request and deserve, and it is her work to beryllium transparent astir what went incorrect pinch nan files release: delays, inappropriate redactions, sharing survivors’ individual information, and failing to meet pinch them,” said Lauren Hersh pinch World Without Exploitation, an defense group representing Epstein survivors.

“We dream that nan House Oversight Committee stands by its responsibility to guarantee nan deposition takes spot and gets answers truthful that these mistakes are ne'er repeated, and we tin prosecute accountability for perpetrators,” she said.

It remains unclear what prompted Melania Trump’s five-minute reside past week, but she condemned “unfounded and baseless lies” and “false smears” against her from “politically motivated individuals and entities” who person sought to “gain financially and climb politically.”

She said she ne'er had a narration pinch Epstein aliases Maxwell, is not a witnesser to their crimes, and is not a unfortunate of trafficking herself.

The first woman besides called for a legislature proceeding “specifically centered astir nan survivors” truthful that “each and each female should person her time to show her communicative successful public, if she wishes, and past her grounds should beryllium permanently entered into nan legislature record.”

She besides stressed that she did not meet nan president done Epstein.

Their gathering was successful 1998 astatine nan Kit Kat Club while she was a exemplary who had been discovered by Paolo Zampolli, who past introduced her to Trump.

Zampolli’s connections to New York’s modeling segment put him successful adjacent relationship pinch Epstein, and Zampolli’s sanction appears respective times successful nan monolithic tranche of documents released by nan the Justice Department. Appearance successful nan files is not grounds of wrongdoing. He is presently serving arsenic nan Trump-appointed “United States Special Representative for Global Partnerships.”

“Melania felt powerfully astir it because she was accused of — that I met her done Epstein, but it turned retired to beryllium wholly false,” nan president said Thursday.

Both nan Republican chair of nan House Oversight Committee and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said they would support nationalist legislature hearings pinch Epstein’s victims.

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said aft Melania Trump’s remarks that nan committee “always planned” connected having nationalist hearings pinch Epstein’s victims erstwhile it concluded depositions.

“We person said many times from time 1 that if there’s immoderate unfortunate that wants to travel guardant and talk astir what they know, whether it’s thing that happened by Mr. Epstein, who’s dead, aliases different individual aliases individuals, that’s what nan FBI does,” Blanche said astatine nan Semafor World Economy acme this week.

Blanche has besides sought to close nan book connected Epstein probes, telling Fox News earlier this period that nan Epstein files “should not beryllium portion of thing going forward” astatine nan department.