Epstein Files

In an unexpected national address from the White House Thursday, Melania Trump announced she never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ... alleging bad actors are attempting to ruin her reputation.

The First Lady of the United States spoke to the nation on camera from the White House moments ago ... saying she was never friends with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender -- and said she and President Donald Trump were simply invited to some of the same parties. She said she had no knowledge of any of Epstein's crimes.

She said, "To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice [Ghislaine] Maxwell" ... adding an email she sent Maxwell can only be seen as a polite reply.

From Manhattan to Paris, Woody Allen appears to have been nearly inseparable from late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein back in the day ... we have newly unearthed shots of the director and his wife Soon-Yi Previn going for a stroll with Epstein.

In the pics, the trio is bundled up and huddled together on the chilly streets of Saint-Germain Des Prés on March 29, 2013. The laughed it up as they took in sights and chatted about God-knows-what in the historic neighborhood.

The couple's friendship with Epstein continued long after their Paris rendezvous -- as we reported, Soon-Yi also had an email exchange with Epstein three years later, in which she attacked the 15-year-old victim in the Anthony Weiner scandal.

Bill Gates is going to testify in the congressional Jeffrey Epstein investigation, TMZ has learned.

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), who sits on the House Oversight Committee, tells TMZ ... the former Microsoft boss will sit for a transcribed interview before the Committee on June 10.

Suhas tells us ... the Committee plans to grill Gates about his ties to Epstein, what (if anything) he knew about Epstein's crimes, whether people were ever trafficked to him, why his picture showed up in the files, and why he would choose to associate himself with someone who had committed these crimes.

Gigi Hadid is breaking her silence after her name popped up in the infamous Jeffrey Epstein files and she's making it crystal clear she had zero connection to the late sex offender.

In a now deleted comment responding to a fan online, Gigi said it made her "sick to my stomach" to see herself mentioned by Epstein -- someone she says she's never met or had any affiliation with.

She added it was "horrible" to read someone she's never even encountered speak about her that way, especially given the context.

The mention comes from a December 2015 email exchange between Epstein and another person, where the two questioned how Gigi and her sister Bella Hadid became successful models.

Newly surfaced surveillance footage from the night of Jeffrey Epstein’s death ... and it appears to show prison guards hanging out just steps away from his cell during the suspected timeframe he had taken his own life.

In the video, first reported by the NYPost, correctional officers Tova Noel and Michael Thomas can be seen around 3:15 AM in the Special Housing Unit at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center -- writing on paper, pacing, and chatting on the phone -- instead of carrying out the required checks, according to footage included in a recently released batch of DOJ documents.

Epstein was incredibly close to where this encounter was captured ... as he was housed in the first cell on the block, just down a short flight of stairs behind the officer station on the ninth floor.

Palm Beach Pete says he's not changing his look despite the frequent comparisons to Jeffrey Epstein ... because he's a good-looking, decent dude -- not a monster like Epstein was.

The viral sensation joined us on "TMZ Live" to talk about his overnight fame ... which began when some guy started filming him while he drove his convertible down a Florida highway.

PBP says this is par for the course in his life ... telling us it's pretty normal for him to go viral like this.

A Florida man named Peter -- or Palm Beach Pete, as he calls himself -- is setting the record straight ... he is not Jeffrey Epstein.

Pete went viral after he was filmed driving in his convertible on I-95 because he bears such a strong resemblance to Epstein.

Pete spoke about the social media whirlwind on Thursday's episode of the "Nicky Gordo Show," saying ... "I'm minding my own business driving down to a place in town. And the next thing you know, hundreds of millions of views."

A prison guard working the night Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide has been called to testify before the Congressional House Oversight Committee.

The committee sent Tova Noel -- the guard who was fired from the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York City after Epstein was found dead in his cell -- a letter requesting her to testify on March 26 at 10 AM ET.

The House Oversight Committee has members who believe Noel has "information that will assist in its investigation" into Epstein's shocking death.

A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse says she can't remember all of the horrors he inflicted on her ... because her traumatized brain blocked the memories out.

We spoke to Marina Lacerda -- known as "Minor Victim-1" in legal documents, who revealed her identity back in September -- and asked her about a turning point in her association with the convicted pedophile.

Marina tells a story about gathering with other survivors of Epstein in recent years ... and, she says she was shocked to hear other survivors talk about Epstein raping them.

Valerie Bertinelli is angry and disappointed by the overall response to the Epstein Files ... and she says "idiots in Congress" are protecting pedophiles.

The famous chef was on "The View" Wednesday, plugging her new memoir, "Getting Naked," where she talks about being sexually abused at the age of 11 ... and the conversation made its way to current events ... namely, the Epstein Files.

Valeria told the panel she's pissed because "pedophiles aren't being held accountable" and she ripped Congress for sitting on their hands.

She also lamented the way sexual abuse survivors are being treated in this country ... going beyond the Epstein Files.

Jeffrey Epstein wasn't just a pedophile, he was also a proud papa ... at least that's what he told one of his sexual assault victims.

In the Epstein Files, there's a document that makes it sound like Epstein was a father to a child.

A woman, who claims Epstein sexually assaulted her for years starting when she was 16, told the feds Epstein once pointed to a photo of a blonde woman displayed inside his New York City mansion and told her it was the mother of his child.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's recent relocation to a U.S. military base has nothing to do with the Epstein files ... so says a Department of Justice official.

Here's the deal ... The New York Times dropped a bombshell revelation this morning when it reported the AG was quietly moved to a Washington, D.C. military installation for her own safety.

NYT -- citing people familiar with the situation -- claimed she'd been moved because of threats from drug cartels and people upset over her handling of the Epstein Files.

Jeffrey Epstein's once notorious Zorro Ranch in New Mexico is now crawling with investigators -- and TMZ has learned the authorities are trying to see if there's any substance to rumors dead bodies were buried on the property.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... the New Mexico Department of Justice is working in coordination with the ranch's new owner, Don Huffines, a Dallas-based real estate mogul who is currently running for Texas Comptroller.

Huffines and his family purchased the property in 2023 and then renamed it Rancho de San Rafael in honor of the patron saint of healing, promising to turn the land into a Christian retreat.

State officials in New Mexico are reportedly conducting the first known thorough search of Jeffrey Epstein's infamous Zorro Ranch ... years after an anonymous tip alleged there were bodies buried on the property.

According to The New York Times, investigators began their search Monday, but acknowledged the passage of time may make things difficult.

The state's attorney general, Raúl Torrez, wrote in The Albuquerque Journal last week that there will be "real obstacles" to finding evidence of any potential offenses that may or may not have taken place on the ranch, but that "the people of New Mexico, and those who were harmed, are entitled to a complete and transparent accounting of what we found and what we did not."

Bill and Hillary Clinton were blowing off steam with a little NYC date night -- their sighting coming just days after they got grilled over their ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The couple were spotted leaving Italian hotspot Il Tinello after dinner Monday night ... Hillary flashing a quick wave to people outside as she slid into their waiting ride, with Bill trailing right behind.

Judging by the scene, the mood was pretty breezy -- relaxed, casual, and a far cry from the hot seat they were in during those Epstein depositions.

Princess Eugenie is stepping down as patron of the world’s oldest human rights organization ... and the timing’s raising eyebrows after her father, former Prince Andrew, was arrested last month.

The UK-based charity Anti-Slavery International confirmed the split in a statement thanking Eugenie for seven years of support, ending with a polite send-off ... "We hope that she continues to work to end slavery."

The org didn’t waste time cleaning house -- her profile was quickly scrubbed from the website ... despite previously praising her work ''across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery.”