Epstein Survivors’ Lawyer Raises Alarm About Melania Trump’s Surprise Statement: ‘It’s So Bizarre’

A lawyer representing victims of convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein called first lady Melania Trump’s surprise statement on her relationship with Epstein “bizarre” and potentially a “distraction.”

Attorney Arick Fudali told MS NOW’s Ana Cabrera on Friday morning that he was shocked to see Melania Trump address the public the day prior on her relationship to Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.

Melania Trump chalked up her relationship to Maxwell as a “casual correspondence.” The Department of Justice’s release of files related to Epstein’s case revealed an email that appeared to be from the first lady referring to Maxwell as “G.” The email, however, was redacted. Critics, including Fudali, have questioned the logic behind the DOJ’s selection of redactions and called for the release of the full files.

He said:

It’s so bizarre. To be honest, I’m quite confused about this whole thing. You know, this is one of those things, who asked for this? I’ve spoken to countless victims, survivors, politicians, journalists, no one has ever asked me or ever mentioned, you know, what does Melania think about all this? It just seems so out of the blue for her to make this statement, reportedly on her own.

And again, her statement contradicts some things that we do know. It was very strange for her to mention that email because again, it was redacted… No one calls someone by their first initial, “hey G,” unless it’s a pretty friendly person… Calling someone by their first initial and then respond “sweet pea.” So, so strange.

I will say she did ask for more transparency, it seems, which is in contrast to everything we’ve heard from this administration. This administration has been all about hiding, you know, the files, redacting the files, keeping those accountable, private.

And this seems to be sort of at least a departure for that. So I’m encouraged by that, that there might be some break in, you know, this sort of MAGA push to keep things secret.

But again, very strange, very out of the blue. And I’m just not really sure why this came at this time.

President Donald Trump revealed after his wife’s statement that he was unaware of the content of her remarks. Trump has dismissed many in his own party and their calls for more Epstein information to be released, chalking up the Epstein files as a Democrat “hoax.”

Fudali applauded Melania Trump for calling for Epstein victims to testify to Congress, but he said her words ultimately feel like a “distraction.” The attorney called for Pam Bondi, the recently-dismissed attorney general, to testify before Congress, something she does not at this moment plan on doing.

“The problem is, that’s not really what we’re looking for right now. We want Pam Bondi to testify,” he said. “We want the full documents unredacted. We want the full documents released. It’s almost like a distraction. It’s like we’re asking for this, but we’ll give you this over here. That’s not what we’re looking for.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!