Daily Beast apologizes to Melania Trump over retracted Epstein allegations article

The Daily Beast issued a residents apology to first lady Melania Trump and retracted an article that alleged she was introduced to her husband President Donald Trump via a modeling agent connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein The outlet acknowledged the story which relied on claims by journalist Michael Wolff did not meet editorial standards It was initially pulled in July after the left-leaning site received a legal threat from the first lady s attorney challenging the headline and framing The Daily Beast formally apologized on Monday in a message that Melania Trump shared on X The Daily Beast of late published a story headlined Melania Trump Very Involved in Epstein Disgrace Author based on an interview with Michael Wolff Upon reflection we have determined that the article did not meet our standards and has therefore been removed from our platforms The Daily Beast stated in a declaration DAILY BEAST PULLS STORY ALLEGING MELANIA-EPSTEIN CONNECTION AFTER LAWYERS DISPUTE FRAMING In response to a letter from the first lady s attorneys The Daily Beast has also removed a portion of an episode of The Daily Beast Podcast titled Trump s Epstein Disgrace Can t Stop Won t Stop referencing the first lady the announcement continued The first lady points to her bestselling book Melania as the definitive account of her life story We apologize to the first lady and our readers Wolff initially made the claims in an interview with Daily Beast chief content officer Joanna Coles for The Daily Beast Podcast They were discussing Trump s alleged connections with Epstein the disgraced financier who died in Melania was very involved in this Epstein relationship There is this model thing and she s introduced by a model agent both of whom Trump and Epstein are involved with She s introduced to Trump that way Epstein knows her well Wolff alleged JEFFREY EPSTEIN THROWN OUT OF MAR-A-LAGO FOR HIRING THE HELP TRUMPWolff did not right away respond to a request for comment In July he advised Fox News Digital that he had nothing to do with the article Wolff s reporting style and credibility in the journalism industry has long faced scrutiny In the journalist informed Bill Maher he had evidence that Trump was having an affair and claimed that a clue to his mistress identity could be detected at the end of his White House tell-all Fire and Fury Readers identified passages that seemed to implicate then-United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley Haley called the insinuation disgusting and highly offensive CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTUREIn a subsequent interview on Morning Joe Wolff denied that he ever insinuated Haley was having an affair with Trump but then announced he discovered it puzzling that she would deny something she was not accused of prompting co-host Mika Brzezinski to accuse him of having fun slurring a woman and end the interview abruptly Multiple figures in Trump s orbit also denied having made quotes attributed to them in Fire and Fury Fox News Digital s David Spector contributed to this account