In a rare public address from the White House this afternoon, first lady Melania Trump denied having any connection to Jeffrey Epstein or knowledge of his crimes, saying, “I am not Epstein’s victim” and “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”

“I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity—I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island,” she told reporters.

The first lady rebuked the “fake images and statements” regarding her and the convicted sex offender that, she said, “have been circulating on social media for years now.”

The first time she “crossed paths with Epstein,” she said, was in 2000 at an event she attended with the now president.

“At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings,” the first lady said.

It was not clear what prompted Thursday’s remarks to the press or what specific images and statements she was referring to.

Last August she threatened Hunter Biden with a $1 billion defamation lawsuit after he publicly stated that Epstein had introduced Melania and Donald Trump. “Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” Biden said in an interview.

“Jeffrey Epstein introduced Melania. That’s how…the first lady and the president met.”

The first lady’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, sent a letter demanding a retraction of the video and an apology, alleging “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”

Biden refused to apologize, saying, “Fuck that, that’s not gonna happen,” and arguing that the lawsuit and subsequent depositions would allow the truth of the relationship between the Trumps and Epstein to come to light.

The couple has maintained that they were introduced by modeling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.