Ranking Oversight Committee member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) criticized first lady Melania Trump’s surprise press event Thursday — where she distanced herself from convicted sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein — by suggesting what she can do if she wants to aid the investigation.
“I think the first lady just clearly created distance between the position of her husband and his administration and herself,” Garcia said on MS Now on Saturday. “If Melania Trump actually wants to help in this investigation, she can look at her husband and tell him to release all the rest of the Epstein files, she could ensure that Pam Bondi actually testifies.”
The first lady received mixed reactions towards her sudden press event on Thursday, where she called for a congressional hearing for Epstein’s victims and addressed speculations over her ties to the convicted sex abuser and his imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Despite Trump’s attempt to distance herself from the circle of Epstein, Garcia said he doesn’t believe “the facts actually bear that out.” A 2002 email exchange between Trump (then Knauss) and Maxwell, made public this year, reveals a friendlier relationship between the two.
“So there’s certainly a lot more questions. Now we’re all kind of wondering ’What, why did she do this? I mean, is she actually trying to preempt information coming out? So we’re looking at this right now,” Garcia said.
