First Lady Melania Trump addresses Epstein allegations, asserting she never knew him or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and was never on his plane or island. She condemns defamation by entities like the Daily Beast and James Carville, demanding apologies and urging Congress to hold a survivor-focused hearing for sworn testimony. The broadcast concludes by introducing Ben Nim Taliblu to discuss the Iranian ceasefire. [Automatically generated summary]
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Ending Epstein Lies Today
00:06:27
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| Of humankind. | |
| Well, you know, I think we'll take you up on that. | |
| We'd love to have you back, perhaps in a forum where we have some CEOs interchanging with you. | |
| I had so many more questions, including the MCC and Development Finance Corporation, your chairmanship there, but we're going to have to come back to that another time. | |
| Okay, so let me thank Deputy Secretary Lando for giving us his time, for his public service. | |
| And if you could all join me in applause, but also hold your seats as the Deputy Secretary leaves the room. | |
| Thank you so much. | |
| Thank you. | |
| We take you live now to First Lady Melania. | |
| We continue our live coverage of the good afternoon. | |
| The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. | |
| The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. | |
| I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation. | |
| I never been friends with Epstein. | |
| Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach. | |
| To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. | |
| My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. | |
| My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note. | |
| I am not Epstein's victim. | |
| Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. | |
| I met my husband by chance at the New York City party in 1998. | |
| This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, Melania. | |
| The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000 at an event Donald and I attended together. | |
| At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings. | |
| Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been calculating on social media for years now. | |
| Be cautious about what you believe. | |
| These images and stories are completely false. | |
| I'm not a witness or a name witness in connection with any of Epstein's crimes. | |
| My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements, or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. | |
| I have never had any knowledge of Epstein abuse of his victims. | |
| I was never involved in any capacity. | |
| I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane, and never visited his private island. | |
| I have never been legally accused or convinced of a crime in connection with Epstein sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior. | |
| The false sneers about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name, to gain financially and climb politically, must stop. | |
| My attorneys and I have fought these unfound and baseless lies with success and will continue to maintain my sound reputation without hesitation. | |
| To date, several individuals and companies have been legally obligated to publicly apologize and retract their lies about me, such as Daily Beast, James Carville, and HarperCollins, UK. | |
| Now is the time for Congress to act. | |
| Epstein was not alone. | |
| Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. | |
| Of course, this doesn't amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth. | |
| I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors. | |
| Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony. | |
| Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record. | |
| Then and only then, we will have the truth. | |
| Thank you. | |
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Victims Testify For Truth
00:01:32
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| All this week on C-SPAN 2. | |
| Watch Encore presentations from two of our signature programs, Q ⁇ A and America's Book Club, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on Q ⁇ A, compelling conversations about books, history, and ideas, with guests including Ann Butler and Barry Diller. | |
| And at 9 p.m. Eastern on America's Book Club, host David Rubenstein invites viewers for lively, thought-provoking conversations with leading authors, policymakers, business innovators, and cultural figures like John Grisham, Beverly Gage, and Cal Ripken Jr. | |
| Watch our encore presentations of Q ⁇ A and America's Book Club all this week at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern on C-SPAN 2. | |
| And find the full schedule online at c-span.org. | |
| Democracy. | |
| It isn't just an idea. | |
| It's a process. | |
| A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. | |
| It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. | |
| Democracy in real time. | |
| This is your government at work. | |
| This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered. | |
| Back with us today to discuss the Iranian ceasefire is Benim Ben Taliblu. | |
| He's a senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. | |
| He has a background in nonproliferation. | |