Epstein Assistant Told Feds He Introduced Melania to Trump, Files Reveal
The claim was made to agents and prosecutors before Epstein died—and it is a crime to lie to the feds.
A recently released document reveals that a former assistant to Jeffrey Epstein testified under oath to the FBI, stating that Epstein introduced Donald Trump to his wife, Melania.
The woman, whose name has not been released, is a former model who worked as Epstein’s assistant for a year, between 2005 and 2006. She made the statement in July 2019, three days after her former employer was arrested by the FBI and indicted on charges of sex trafficking of minors. The heavily redacted 11-page document was among the three million files related to Epstein that were leaked on Friday and made public on Monday.
The woman’s testimony contradicts Melania Trump’s account in her memoir of her first meeting with her billionaire husband, as well as his statements about the beginning of their relationship. The White House reiterated a previous warning from the Justice Department that the Epstein files could contain inaccurate information.
Last year, the First Lady threatened to sue Michael Wolff, Trump’s longtime biographer, for $1 billion after he claimed on The Daily Beast podcast that she was “very involved” in Epstein’s social circle. Wolff stated that Trump and Melania met in 1998 through Paolo Zampolli, Melania’s then-businessman. Zampolli responded to the threat by filing a lawsuit against the First Lady, invoking freedom of speech and accusing her of attempting to unlawfully silence him. Melania Trump is currently seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming she was not properly informed.
This controversial allegation about the couple’s meeting appeared in a November 2019 FBI report, which details a July interview with an unidentified woman who was granted immunity. This heavily redacted report indicates that the woman was treated both as a victim of sexual assault and as a witness who provided harrowing details of Epstein’s sexual abuse on his private island.
The interview, conducted by FBI agents and federal prosecutors, was recorded as a “cooperation agreement.” A cooperation agreement involves a witness providing truthful testimony in exchange for a promise not to prosecute them, or some other form of limited immunity. The document does not specify the type of immunity offered. Making a false statement to the FBI is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The woman stated that she was working as a model when she accepted a job offered by Epstein around 2005. She spent about a year traveling with him as an assistant, her last assignment being a trip to Paris in 2006.
The second page of the document begins with the following statement: “[Name withheld] contacted [Name withheld] through an agent named Paolo Zimpoli, who worked for ID Models.” This is believed to be PAOLO ZEMPOLI, Melania Trump’s former modeling agent, whom Trump appointed as special envoy for international partnerships last year.
Several passages were redacted before the text was finalized: “ZEMPOLI was attempting to buy Elite Models in association with EPSTEIN.” EPSTEIN introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP.
This 11-page document details the woman’s employment with Epstein and the abuse she suffered, including an incident where she recalls “crying in the car” after the “deceased predator took a vibrator and rubbed it against her.”
The woman’s testimony contradicts years of reports that Zempoli introduced Melania Trump to him at a party he hosted at the Kit Kat Club in 1998. It also contradicts the former First Lady’s memoir, published in 2024.
“I saw my friend signal to someone behind me. When I turned around, I saw a man and a pretty blonde woman approaching us,” she writes. “The man said, when he reached my table, ‘Hello, I’m Donald Trump.’ ‘Nice to meet you.'” “I recognized his name and knew he was a businessman or a celebrity, but I didn’t know anything more. He extended his hand.
“Hello, I’m Melania,” I replied. His eyes lit up with curiosity and interest, and he seized the opportunity, sitting down next to me and starting a conversation.
In a 2005 interview with Larry King on CNN, the newlyweds recounted their first meeting.
“Did you fall in love at first sight?” Trump asked.
He replied, “I lost it. I was supposed to meet someone else. There was a gorgeous model sitting next to Melania. I was supposed to meet her, and they kept saying, ‘Look, there’s so-and-so.’ I said, ‘Forget her. Who’s that on the left?’ And it was Melania.”
Zambolli is now the State Department’s Special Envoy for Global Partnerships. The former modeling agent, born in Italy, was a longtime key figure in Trump’s inner circle.
The threat to sue Wolff wasn’t the only one brandished by Melania’s lawyers. She also threatened to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion after he cited Wolff’s allegations in an interview.
When asked about this threat to sue Hunter Biden, Trump told Fox News in April 2025 that the convicted financier, who had been a close friend for years, “had nothing to do” with Melania. He stated, “Jeffrey Epstein had no connection to Melania or how we met. But they’re doing this to discredit her; they’re making up stories. I can tell you the whole truth: it was someone else. I met her through another person, but it wasn’t Jeffrey Epstein.”
The statement said, “These documents may include falsified or distorted photos, documents, or videos, as anything submitted by the public to the FBI is included in the documents in accordance with the law.” “Some documents contain false and controversial allegations against President Trump, which were submitted to the FBI before the 2020 election. It should be made clear that these allegations are baseless and misleading, and if they had any credibility whatsoever, they would have already been used as a weapon against President Trump.”
