第一夫人梅兰妮·特朗普的高级顾问马克·贝克曼说，她想在分娩时“澄清事实”惊喜声明否认与最近被定罪的性侵犯者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦有任何联系。
贝克曼详细阐述了第一夫人周五早上在“福克斯”节目中公开解决爱泼斯坦争议的决定&朋友。"
“如果她不能为自己辩护，如果她不能为自己辩护并确保自己的名誉无可挑剔，谁会去做呢?迄今为止，还没有人做到这一点，”贝克曼说。
“她已经准备好战斗了，”他补充道。
第一夫人在周四的讲话中说，她从来不知道爱泼斯坦的罪行，她与爱泼斯坦或他的同谋吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦尔(Ghislaine Maxwell)没有任何关系，她没有提前通知媒体。
第一夫人还呼吁对爱泼斯坦的争议举行公开听证会，并允许幸存者在国会作证，如果他们希望这样做的话。
“把我和可耻的杰弗里·爱泼斯坦联系在一起的谎言今天必须结束，”梅兰妮·特朗普说。
第一夫人办公室的发言人表示，白宫西翼知道她会发表声明。
但消息人士告诉ABC新闻，白宫官员对她的演讲主题感到措手不及，有人质疑她为什么现在就这个主题发表评论。
据一名MS Now记者称，唐纳德·特朗普总统表示，他不知道第一夫人今天会就爱泼斯坦发表声明。这名记者称，她与总统进行了简短的电话采访。
美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)要求澄清，第一夫人的发言人将有关特朗普对其声明的了解的任何问题都转给了白宫西翼。但白宫表示，任何与该声明相关的问题都应该来自她的办公室。
特朗普总统试图将焦点从爱泼斯坦的争议上转移开，反复称之为“民主党的骗局”。代理司法部长托德·布兰奇(Todd Blanche)在最近的一次采访中表示，爱普斯坦的档案问题“不应该成为司法部未来工作的一部分”。
贝克曼在“福克斯”节目中被问到&朋友”为什么梅兰妮·特朗普决定在这时候站出来。
“第一，适可而止。这一直在进行，现在是时候让公众重新关注我们的第一夫人取得了什么成就，”贝克曼说，指的是她的寄养和教育倡议。
贝克曼回应了第一夫人的评论，即关于她和爱泼斯坦的虚假图像和故事已经流传多年，促使她站出来解决这些问题——尽管最近几周的头条新闻都是关于爱泼斯坦的文件。
“第一夫人昨天完成了三件事，因为它与可耻的爱泼斯坦有关，”他说。“首先，她清除了自己的记录。她澄清了事实。她揭穿了围绕她和爱泼斯坦的所有谎言。第二，她成了这些妇女和受害者的捍卫者。最后，第三，她是华盛顿特区真正的领导人。她呼吁国会现在就采取行动。”
美国广播公司新闻问白宫，总统是否同意第一夫人的观点，即爱泼斯坦的受害者应该在国会作证，但没有得到回应。
13名爱泼斯坦幸存者和另一名幸存者的弟媳指责第一夫人“将负担转移到幸存者身上”，而不是推动问责。
“幸存者已经尽了自己的责任。现在是当权者做他们该做的事情的时候了，”他们说。
Melania Trump adviser speaks on what led to her surprise Epstein statement
A senior adviser to first lady Melania Trump, Marc Beckman, said she wanted to "set the record straight" when she delivered hersurprise statementat the White House denying any ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Beckman elaborated on the first lady's decision to publicly address the Epstein controversy during an appearance Friday morning on "Fox&Friends."
"If she can't stick up for herself, if she can't defend herself and make sure that her reputation is impeccable, who will do it? Nobody's done it to date," Beckman said.
"She's ready to fight," he added.
The press was not given advance notice on the topic of the first lady's Thursday remarks, in which she said she never had any knowledge of Epstein's crimes and that she had no relationship with Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, his co-conspirator who was convicted of sex trafficking.
The first lady also called for public hearings into the Epstein controversy and to allow survivors to testify before Congress if they wish to do so.
"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," Melania Trump said.
A spokesperson for the first lady's office said the West Wing was aware she would make a statement.
But sources told ABC News that White House officials were caught off guard by the topic of her address, with some questioning why she was commenting on the subject now.
President Donald Trump said he did not know the first lady was going to make a statement today about Epstein, according to an MS Now reporter who said she had a brief phone interview with the president.
Asked by ABC News for clarification, a spokesperson for the first lady directed any questions about Trump’s knowledge about her statement to the West Wing. But the White House has said any questions related to the statement should come from her office.
President Trump has tried to shift focus away from the Epstein controversy, repeatedly calling it a "Democratic hoax." Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, in a recent interview, said the Epstein files matter "should not be a part of anything going forward" at the Department of Justice.
Beckman was asked on "Fox&Friends" why Melania Trump decided to come forward at this moment.
"First, enough is enough. This has been ongoing and it's time for the public to refocus their attention on what achievements our first lady has done," Beckman said, pointing to her foster care and education initiatives.
Beckman echoed the first lady's comments that fake images and stories about her and Epstein have circulated for years, prompting her to come out and address them -- despite headlines in recent weeks moving on from the Epstein files.
"The first lady accomplished three things yesterday as it relates to the disgraceful Epstein," he said. "First, she cleared her record. She set the record straight. She debunked all of the lies surrounding her and Epstein. Second, she became a champion for these women, for the victims. Finally, third, she is a real leader in Washington, D.C. She is calling on Congress to act now."
ABC News asked the White House if the president agrees with the first lady that Epstein's victims should testify before Congress but has not gotten a response.
A group of 13 Epstein survivors and the brother and sister-in-law of another accused the first lady of "shifting the burden onto survivors," rather than pushing for accountability.
"Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs," they said.
