Report Questions NYT Epstein Coverage Over Omitted Trump Link Claims

A national security blogger is criticizing the New York Times’ latest Epstein investigation over one notable omission: the name “Melania” does not appear in Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s roughly 8,000-word piece detailing the White House’s response to the Epstein files, Daniel Hampton reported for Raw Story.

The “Melania question” has since become part of ongoing public and legal disputes. (Photo: Ajay Suresh Flickr)

Legal commentator Marcy Wheeler pointed out the omission on her Emptywheel blog on Thursday.

She argued the absence was “especially damning,” noting that Haberman had co-authored a July 2019 New York Times story stating that Epstein had claimed since Trump’s election that he introduced the future president to his third wife.

The 2019 piece, co-bylined by Annie Karni and Haberman, included Epstein’s claim.

Wheeler wrote that the newer article focused on other details, including the strategy of having acting Attorney General Todd Blanche interview Ghislaine Maxwell, while omitting what she described as a significant personal connection between Trump and Epstein.

The “Melania question” has since become part of ongoing public and legal disputes.

Earlier this year, an FBI document from a 2019 witness interview reportedly stated that Epstein introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump—an assertion Melania has strongly denied, saying in an April news conference that she met Trump “by chance” at a 1998 party.

She has threatened multibillion-dollar defamation suits against journalists and authors who repeat the claim, including biographer Michael Wolff and Hunter Biden.

Wheeler also referenced additional unverified claims circulating online, including assertions involving Epstein victims and individuals linked to Melania Trump, which have not been independently substantiated in the text provided.