On Thursday, Ambassador Paolo Zampolli expressed his willingness to testify before Congress, asserting that he was the one who introduced President Donald Trump to First Lady Melania Trump.
In a phone conversation with the Daily Mail, Zampolli revealed his intentions following a surprising statement from the First Lady regarding Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious serial pedophile. Her announcement, which seemed to catch even President Trump off guard, denied circulating rumors of Epstein’s involvement in the couple’s introduction.
The First Lady specifically refuted claims that Epstein had played any role in her meeting with Donald Trump.
“I’m prepared to testify before Congress to clarify who actually introduced the First Lady,” Zampolli, an Italian-American diplomat, declared in his interview. “I can also bring along 50 witnesses who were present that evening. It’s well-known; this is not new information.”
As recounted, the first meeting between Trump and Melania occurred at a New York Fashion Week party in September 1998. The event, organized at the Kit Kat Club, was hosted by Zampolli, who was a modeling agent at the time.
Regarding the First Lady’s unexpected declaration, Zampolli suggested that Melania was moved by empathy for Epstein’s numerous victims.
‘I’m sure she cares about the victims and everybody that has been a victim has a right to expose this animal,’ Zampolli told the Daily Mail. ‘I think the First Lady has the biggest heart in the world, she’s a family woman, and she’s our marvelous First Lady,’ he added.
Marc Beckman, senior adviser to the First Lady, told the Daily Mail that Melania spoke out because ‘enough is enough’ and ‘the lies must stop.’
First Lady Melania Trump (left) made a surprising statement on Thursday related to Jeffrey Epstein, including swatting down rumors that he introduced her to President Donald Trump. Ambassador Paolo Zampolli (right) said he’d testify before Congress that he introduced the first couple
The timing raised eyebrows. Iran war coverage has largely drowned out the Epstein story, save for an ongoing battle on Capitol Hill over whether former Attorney General Pam Bondi must still sit for an Epstein-related deposition.
Even President Trump professed ignorance, telling MSNOW he didn’t ‘know anything about’ Melania’s plans to address Epstein.
The First Lady’s office had sent a press release to the media on Wednesday announcing she planned to make remarks – but gave no hint of the subject.
In a brief statement, during which she ignored reporters’ shouted questions, Melania made clear she was neither ‘friends’ with Epstein nor a ‘victim’ of the pedophile.
‘I honestly think, deep in her heart, she cares about the victims,’ Zampolli said. ‘I know she’s not a victim. We know that.’
‘They met randomly, they met socially – everybody knew Epstein,’ he added. ‘I’m in the files, you know?’
The New York Times confirmed that Zampolli’s name appeared in the Epstein files, in a story alleging the ambassador – who serves as Trump’s Special Envoy for Global Partnership – had outed his ex-girlfriend for being in the country illegally.
‘At no time did I request any favors from my colleagues,’ he told the Daily Mail, denying he had used his close ties to the President to have his ex, Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro, deported.
Ambassador Paolo Zampolli is photographed in Rome in February 2025. He told the Daily Mail Thursday that he believes First Lady Melania Trump made her statement due to caring about Epstein’s victims
Ambassador Paolo Zampolli (left) is photographed alongside First Lady Melania Trump (right) at the 2024 New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago
‘My inquiries were solely aimed at understanding the situation, and any advice I sought was strictly in relation to my son’s safety,’ he added in an interview last month.
The Times also reported that both Zampolli and Ungaro knew Epstein, and that Epstein and Zampolli had discussed buying a modelling agency together – though in a 2011 email to an Emirati businessman, Epstein sounded a sharply different note: ‘Be careful, [Zampolli] is trouble. Lots. He sells stories to the press.’
In a phone call on Thursday, Zampolli dismissed any suggestion that his fraught relationship with Ungaro had prompted the First Lady’s statement.
‘There’s no way. This is the First Lady of the United States. Do you think she cares about my ex?’ he said.
Since her deportation, Ungaro has spoken out in Brazilian media about flying in 2002, aged 17, on Epstein’s private jet, the Lolita Express – and how uncomfortable the experience was.
‘All I wanted was to get off that plane. I knew something was wrong – I just didn’t know what,’ she told O Globo. ‘At the time, it never crossed my mind that it could involve abuse.’
Ungaro has not suggested Epstein shared a close relationship with the Trumps.
