Book publisher HarperCollins UK issued an apology Tuesday after a recent biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, suggested First Lady Melania Trump was introduced to her husband through convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, per newsweek.com.
The publisher, in consultation with author Andrew Lownie, agreed to remove “several passages of the book that made unverified claims” about the First Lady, according to a statement posted on social platform X, which Trump also shared.
“Copies of the book that include those references are being permanently removed from distribution,” the statement reads. “HarperCollins UK apologises to the first lady.”
The book, an unauthorised biography of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and an Epstein associate, was released on August 14. An earlier version had suggested Epstein “facilitated” the meeting between Trump and then-businessman Donald Trump, NBC News reported last month. The original claim did not suggest Melania Trump knew of any illegal activity connected to Epstein.
The First Lady and her legal team have repeatedly challenged claims about how she and the former President met. She maintains she met Donald Trump at New York’s Kit Kat Klub, a detail documented in her memoir.
The publisher’s action follows other recent retractions related to similar claims. In August, Democratic strategist James Carville apologised and removed a YouTube video making the same allegation about the introduction.
That same month, Melania Trump called on Hunter Biden to retract and apologise for a suggestion he made in July linking her to Epstein. The First Lady sought $1 billion in damages. In a YouTube interview, Biden, when offered a chance to apologise, responded, “Uh, f— that. That’s not going to happen.”
•Featured image: First Lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom in September/Andrew Matthews/WPA Pool/Getty Images
