Documents published by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on January 31, 2026, reveal that a former employee of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein claimed that Epstein introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump. The accusation has been made by a former assistant to Epstein who had previously worked as a model.
Her statement, given under a proffer agreement to the FBI and federal prosecutors in July 2019, emerged from the DOJ’s extensive public release of over three million pages of Epstein’s files. Proffer agreements offer limited immunity in exchange for truthful statements, with false testimonies potentially resulting in up to five years in prison.
Contrary to public accounts of how President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump met, the assistant claimed in a November 2019 FBI document, “ZEMPOLI [Zampolli] was trying to buy Elite Models with EPSTEIN. EPSTEIN introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP.”
The assistant’s testimony was given under legal protection, although the document did not specify the charges for which immunity was provided. The traditional narrative, which credits the introduction of the couple to Zampolli at the Kit Kat Club in 1998, is now under scrutiny. The White House referred to the DOJ’s cautionary note accompanying the file release, which warned of potential fake or falsely submitted content.
Zampolli, appointed by President Trump as a special envoy for global partnerships, has been widely recognized as the facilitator of the Trumps’ first meeting. The assistant’s testimony complicates this narrative and raises questions about Epstein’s social connections in the late 1990s.
According to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ’s file release includes about 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. In October 2025, Melania Trump’s lawyer demanded a retraction of statements linking her to Epstein’s social circle, threatening a billion-dollar lawsuit. In response, author Michael Wolff filed a preemptive anti-SLAPP lawsuit against the First Lady in New York State Supreme Court.
Notably, the files expose connections between Epstein and other members of Trump’s inner circle. Steve Bannon conducted a documentary interview with Epstein in the summer of 2019, shortly before Epstein’s death. Elon Musk and Epstein exchanged emails about attending parties on Christmas Day 2012, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appears in the documents, having corresponded with Epstein about a Caribbean meeting.
Epstein died by suicide in jail on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death occurred shortly after his arrest in July 2019, around the same time the former assistant made her statement to federal investigators.
The DOJ warned that the released files include potentially fake or false content, as all submissions to the FBI by the public were included in the production. The presence of an individual’s name in the documents does not necessarily suggest credibility or imply wrongdoing. The files feature thousands of references to President Trump, primarily as forwarded news articles and media mentions rather than evidence of criminal conduct.
Other notable figures in the files include Bill Gates, Ghislaine Maxwell, Brett Ratner, and Kevin Warsh, revealing Epstein’s extensive network across various industries. Woody Allen and Epstein texted each other, and wellness influencer Peter Attia is also mentioned in the files. Katherine Keating, the daughter of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, is noted to have offered to bring her sister to a dinner party hosted by Epstein.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse criticized the document release, arguing that it exposed their identities in violation of DOJ’s guarantees of privacy protection. The criticism escalated after lawyers representing 300 survivors filed an emergency request to the DOJ to remove its website, citing nearly 100 victims whose identities were exposed due to inadequate redactions. Following this, the DOJ removed “several thousand documents” from its website to correct the redaction failures.
The revelation from Epstein’s former assistant adds to the intricate network of relationships surrounding Epstein, who was known for his connections with influential individuals. Her testimony, given under legal protections and the threat of perjury, is one among thousands of pieces of evidence now accessible to the public as investigations into Epstein’s activities continue.