The Daily Beast retracted a story from Wednesday which alleged first lady Melania Trump was “very involved” with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Beast cited biographer Michael Wolff, who alleged during a Saturday podcast interview with Joanna Coles that Melania was closely associated with Epstein’s circle and met President Donald Trump in 1998 through ID Models founder Paolo Zampolli, who had ties to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. After publishing a story surrounding the allegation, Melania’s attorney sent a letter to The Daily Beast to challenge “the headline and framing of the article,” which ultimately led to the story’s removal, according to an editor’s note.
“After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” an editor’s note reads.
The headline reportedly read, “Melania Trump Was ‘Very Involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author,” according to The Wrap, which cited Apple News. The interview where Wolff made the allegations is still available to watch on The Daily Beast’s YouTube channel.
Wolff accused Melania of knowing Epstein very well and even of first getting intimate with Trump on Epstein’s plane.
“She was very involved in this Epstein relationship. I mean, there was this model thing … She’s introduced by a model agent, both of whom Trump and Epstein are involved with. She’s introduced to Trump that way. Epstein knows her well. Epstein says the first time Donald Trump and Melania have sex is on his airplane. So this is a, you know, another complicated dimension in this. Where does she fit into the Epstein story? Where does she fit into this whole culture of models of indeterminate age?”
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Trump’s previous friendship with Epstein had come into the limelight ever since the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded on July 6 that Epstein committed suicide in August 2019 and that he did not possess a client list. The president told reporters on July 29 that he removed Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after he learned that the sex offender was hiring his female spa workers, which included then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was recruited to perform sex acts for Epstein.
Trump filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and two WSJ reporters on July 18 after they alleged that he sent Epstein a drawing of a naked stick figure woman in 2003. The president denied The WSJ’s reporting, stating that he does not draw pictures of women.
The Daily Beast did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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