Omnibus Jeffrey Epstein & Ghislaine Maxwell
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
It was the first time Melania Trump had spoken about the Epstein controversy on camera. It’s unclear what prompted her to make these remarks now, but her staff has been aggressive at knocking down what they call "defamatory" Epstein rumors.
They come after the Justice Department told the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to provide testimony next week before the panel.
Melania Trump denies ties to Epstein and calls on Congress to hold a hearing for survivors — NBC News
In a rare, unexpected public statement at the White House, the first lady said she "never had a relationship" with Epstein.
The justice department told the House Oversight Committee that Bondi will not appear at the 14 April deposition as she was "subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General," a committee spokesperson confirmed to the BBC.
Ok…so…what? Nancy Mace, a Republican member of the committee, said the subpoena requires Bondi to appear and her no longer being attorney general does not "erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight"?
Mace urged Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, to "publicly reaffirm former Attorney General Pam Bondi's legal obligation to appear for her deposition".
"The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld," Mace wrote.
Ranking Democrat Robert Garcia echoed those sentiments. "She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges," he wrote in a statement.
Bondi has not commented….& it doesn’t sound like she (or the Justice Dept) intends to… at least as of this coming April 14 anyway, right?
The congressional committee has already compelled a number of high-profile figures to testify in the case, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On Tuesday, the committee announced scheduled testimony with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in June. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to testify in the coming weeks.
Former attorney general Pam Bondi will not testify on Epstein files next week, justice department says — BBC News
Pam Bondi will not face a congressional committee because she is no longer the US attorney general, the justice department told the panel.
So was the subpoena issued in her name or in her former job title? Then at this point doesn’t really matter if both sides seem like they’re just making shit up as they go along? I wonder what the law really says in this situation and is it (the law) as fluid as it sounds above?
Saw that "statement" live.........and it seemed weird. Why NOW?? A distraction from Donald's failed war in Iran?? Or??It was the first time Melania Trump had spoken about the Epstein controversy on camera. It’s unclear what prompted her to make these remarks now, but her staff has been aggressive at knocking down what they call "defamatory" Epstein rumors.
They come after the Justice Department told the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to provide testimony next week before the panel.
Melania Trump denies ties to Epstein and calls on Congress to hold a hearing for survivors — NBC News
In a rare, unexpected public statement at the White House, the first lady said she "never had a relationship" with Epstein.apple.news
She used a lot of words and still did not make her point all the clearly.
Donald has been doing everything he can to distract from those fles....so why would SHE of all people bring them up at this particular time??
It sounded a bit like : " she protest too much". and meanwhile the files are back in the news .
Or…or she knows the House Oversight Committee will not allow this for whatever reason (victim confidentiality or some other thing) and thus it’s safe for Melania Trump to call for this ‘cuz it can’t happen? I’ve really no idea but it is interesting.
"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," she said. "Then and only then, we will have the truth."
Legally, what is stopping this because I’m assuming something is in order for her to make the claim above?
Count the times Melania mentions Donald Trump.
(YouTube & A Statement by First Lady Melania Trump)
www.nbcnews.com
(YouTube & A Statement by First Lady Melania Trump)
Author Michael Wolff sues Melania Trump over Jeffrey Epstein threat
The legal action accuses the first lady of trying to muzzle Wolff by threatening him with a $1 billion lawsuit.
www.nbcnews.com
Or she is just looking to get her name in the news? The whole thing is rather baffling.
After all the work of trying to make this Epstein thing blend into the background, Mrs Trump, if she really wanted to be in the news for something, could’ve done pretty much anything from talking about starving children in Africa to flashing her boobs and throwing beads from the second story balcony of the White House. There is something more here….& she mentioned “Donald” once only in reference to not meeting him via Epstein…that’s it.
She is publicly distancing herself, not her husband, from Jeffrey Epstein. The fact that she did it in the White House at a podium bracketed by American flags is probably relevant also as far as the staging of this went. Very official smelling.
What’s your opinion re post# 903 here?
???The justice department told the House Oversight Committee that Bondi will not appear at the 14 April deposition as she was "subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General," a committee spokesperson confirmed to the BBC.
View attachment 34021
Ok…so…what? Nancy Mace, a Republican member of the committee, said the subpoena requires Bondi to appear and her no longer being attorney general does not "erase her obligation to testify and does not end Congressional oversight"?
View attachment 34020
Mace urged Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, to "publicly reaffirm former Attorney General Pam Bondi's legal obligation to appear for her deposition".
"The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld," Mace wrote.
Ranking Democrat Robert Garcia echoed those sentiments. "She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges," he wrote in a statement.
Bondi has not commented….& it doesn’t sound like she (or the Justice Dept) intends to… at least as of this coming April 14 anyway, right?
The congressional committee has already compelled a number of high-profile figures to testify in the case, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On Tuesday, the committee announced scheduled testimony with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in June. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to testify in the coming weeks.
Ok, so which is it? Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis sent a letter to Comer, in which he said that “the subpoena no longer obligates” Bondi to appear before the panel because it was issued to her in her professional capacity as Attorney General, a role she no longer holds?
Former attorney general Pam Bondi will not testify on Epstein files next week, justice department says — BBC News
Pam Bondi will not face a congressional committee because she is no longer the US attorney general, the justice department told the panel.
So was the subpoena issued in her name or in her former job title? Then at this point doesn’t really matter if both sides seem like they’re just making shit up as they go along? I wonder what the law really says in this situation and is it (the law) as fluid as it sounds above?
I have no opinion. Subpoenae are issued to people, not positions. That's not an opinion.
That actually answers my question which I worded very poorly. Thank you.
That is most likely the real reason . If they can delay things long enough something else will come up to attract media attention and the money will continue to flow.
On Thursday, for reasons that nobody can quite understand, the first lady decided to tell the world to ignore all the rumours circulating about her connections to Jeffrey Epstein because she “never had a relationship” with the late sex offender or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Yes, she’d met Epstein, but she barely knew him. Yes, there are photos of Epstein, Maxwell and the Trumps together, but those aren’t a big deal.
You don’t have to be a PR expert to realise that issuing a statement like this was a deeply weird move. The world’s attention has been diverted from Epstein by the war on Iran, but this unexpected press conference has put the Trump family’s relationship with the late financier back in the headlines. If the first lady was hoping to clear up some rumours and draw a line under the issue, she has sorely failed. It’s also unclear whether the president, who has urged people to move on from Epstein, was aware Melania had planned to speak out about this.
There’s mounting speculation that a big story might be about to drop, causing the White House (or at least Melania herself) to panic and attempt to get ahead of the narrative.
Opinion | What on Earth is Melania Trump thinking? — Guardian US
The first lady has put the Barbra Streisand effect in overdrive with a PR nightmare of her own making
The House Oversight Committee is threatening to initiate contempt charges against former Attorney General Pam Bondi if she does not show up for her scheduled testimony on the Epstein files.
As of April 11, 2026, former Attorney General Pam Bondi is not expected to appear for her scheduled April 14, 2026, deposition before the House Oversight Committee regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The Department of Justice argues that because she was fired on April 2, 2026, the subpoena, issued for her in her official capacity, no longer obligates her to appear, & if so that’s awfully convenient.
The deposition is considered postponed, with lawmakers threatening contempt charges if she does not comply. The investigation relates to her role in overseeing the release of Jeffrey Epstein files. Therefore, while there is a legal dispute, she is not scheduled to appear as planned on April 14 due to the DOJ's position on the subpoena's validity following her (conveniently timed) termination, but that’s probably just a coincidence.
Zampolli reportedly brought Melania Knauss (later Trump) to a party where she met Donald Trump and was introduced to Maxwell. Zampolli was part of the social circle that included Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, with Zampolli previously dealing with Epstein on modeling business ventures.
He was listed as a board member/partner of the TerraMar Project around 2013 (but that’s probably just another coincidence) worked with Maxwell on UN ocean initiatives. The organization was founded by Maxwell in 2012 and shut down in 2019, shortly after Epstein's arrest on sex-trafficking charges.As a special envoy (due to his modeling agency recruiting experience?), Zampolli has recently been associated with promoting U.S. diplomatic initiatives, such as presenting the U.S. Constitution to officials in Uzbekistan?
Amanda Ungaro - Wikipedia
Ungaro reportedly arrived in the U.S. at 17 years old on Jeffrey Epstein's plane, and she has claimed to have information regarding high-profile social circles in that era, but that’s probably just another coincidence.
Ungaro has been invited, but not yet subpoenaed, to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating the case. She said she encountered Epstein once, in 2002, when she boarded a flight from Paris to New York on one of his planes, known as the “Lolita Express,” while traveling with her agent, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, who was later accused of recruiting young women for Epstein. Later that year, she met Zampolli in New York.
“There were around 30 girls on the plane. I found it very strange,” she said. “They looked more like students than models — very young, beautiful, but not with a model’s profile.”
‘Jeffrey Epstein didn’t introduce Melania to Trump. I did’ — The Times and The Sunday Times
A Trump administration official and former model scout has offered to testify before Congress that it was he, not Jeffrey Epstein, who introduced Melania Knauss to Donald Trump. Paolo Zampolli, appointed last year by the president to be special representative for global partnerships at the...
Who cares ?On Thursday, for reasons that nobody can quite understand, the first lady decided to tell the world to ignore all the rumours circulating about her connections to Jeffrey Epstein because she “never had a relationship” with the late sex offender or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Yes, she’d met Epstein, but she barely knew him. Yes, there are photos of Epstein, Maxwell and the Trumps together, but those aren’t a big deal.
You don’t have to be a PR expert to realise that issuing a statement like this was a deeply weird move. The world’s attention has been diverted from Epstein by the war on Iran, but this unexpected press conference has put the Trump family’s relationship with the late financier back in the headlines. If the first lady was hoping to clear up some rumours and draw a line under the issue, she has sorely failed. It’s also unclear whether the president, who has urged people to move on from Epstein, was aware Melania had planned to speak out about this.
There’s mounting speculation that a big story might be about to drop, causing the White House (or at least Melania herself) to panic and attempt to get ahead of the narrative.
Pam Bondi has said that, since she is no longer attorney general, she will not appear on 14 April for a scheduled deposition to answer questions about the justice department’s handling of the Epstein files.
Opinion | What on Earth is Melania Trump thinking? — Guardian US
The first lady has put the Barbra Streisand effect in overdrive with a PR nightmare of her own making
The House Oversight Committee is threatening to initiate contempt charges against former Attorney General Pam Bondi if she does not show up for her scheduled testimony on the Epstein files.
View attachment 34045
View attachment 34046
View attachment 34048
As of April 11, 2026, former Attorney General Pam Bondi is not expected to appear for her scheduled April 14, 2026, deposition before the House Oversight Committee regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The Department of Justice argues that because she was fired on April 2, 2026, the subpoena, issued for her in her official capacity, no longer obligates her to appear, & if so that’s awfully convenient.
The deposition is considered postponed, with lawmakers threatening contempt charges if she does not comply. The investigation relates to her role in overseeing the release of Jeffrey Epstein files. Therefore, while there is a legal dispute, she is not scheduled to appear as planned on April 14 due to the DOJ's position on the subpoena's validity following her (conveniently timed) termination, but that’s probably just a coincidence.
View attachment 34049
View attachment 34050
Zampolli reportedly brought Melania Knauss (later Trump) to a party where she met Donald Trump and was introduced to Maxwell. Zampolli was part of the social circle that included Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, with Zampolli previously dealing with Epstein on modeling business ventures.
As a special envoy (due to his modeling agency recruiting experience?), Zampolli has recently been associated with promoting U.S. diplomatic initiatives, such as presenting the U.S. Constitution to officials in Uzbekistan?
Paolo Zampolli, a longtime associate of Donald Trump and a special envoy for global partnerships, is accused of contacting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to have his ex-girlfriend, Brazilian former model Amanda Ungaro, deported during a custody battle?Amanda Ungaro - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Ungaro reportedly arrived in the U.S. at 17 years old on Jeffrey Epstein's plane, and she has claimed to have information regarding high-profile social circles in that era, but that’s probably just another coincidence.
Ungaro has been invited, but not yet subpoenaed, to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating the case. She said she encountered Epstein once, in 2002, when she boarded a flight from Paris to New York on one of his planes, known as the “Lolita Express,” while traveling with her agent, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, who was later accused of recruiting young women for Epstein. Later that year, she met Zampolli in New York.
“There were around 30 girls on the plane. I found it very strange,” she said. “They looked more like students than models — very young, beautiful, but not with a model’s profile.”
‘Jeffrey Epstein didn’t introduce Melania to Trump. I did’ — The Times and The Sunday Times
A Trump administration official and former model scout has offered to testify before Congress that it was he, not Jeffrey Epstein, who introduced Melania Knauss to Donald Trump. Paolo Zampolli, appointed last year by the president to be special representative for global partnerships at the...