US First lady Melania Trump has said she never had a relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and said the claims about it are defaming her.
"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," Melania Trump said in a rare address from the White House.
She said she had never had a relationship with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, with whom she said she had only a casual correspondence.
Files released by the Justice Department on Epstein include a 2002 email from Ms Trump, to Maxwell about a magazine piece on Epstein. "You look great," the email says.
"I am not Epstein's victim," Ms Trump said.
Ms Trump said Epstein did not introduce her to her husband, US President Donald Trump.
She also called on Congress to hold a public hearing for Epstein's victims.
Epstein was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His 2019 death in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.
Read more: The huge haul of powerful figures caught up in Epstein's net
