It is the six-minute speech that has left America slack-jawed. 

In a grey business suit, Melania Trump strode to the podium and, in an icy tone, talked not about a charitable endeavour, as usually befits a First Lady, but a convicted paedophile.

'The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,' she said on Thursday.

Cue gasps from the White House Press corps who had been warned that Melania would be making a speech but had, according to one, 'assumed it would be about one of her worthy but slightly boring causes.'

Far from it. 'To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice [Ghislaine] Maxwell. I am not Epstein's victim,' she insisted.

On she went with short, sharp denials: 'Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I am not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein's crimes. 

'My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. 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. I was never on Epstein's plane and never visited his private island.'

It was an extraordinarily candid public display from a woman who has built her public persona on the principle that 'less is more.'

A source who has known Melania since the Trumps' first term in the White House told me: 'For years Melania believed in total silence. She was an enigma. But she's become more confident during this second term.

'There was her documentary [Melania] and a coffee table book but those gave nothing away. That's what makes this week's speech so extraordinary. Melania was clearly angry and upset. It felt like she was trying to get ahead of something.'

By airing her denials so publicly, the Epstein scandal – which has led to the imprisonment of his former madam Maxwell and the disgrace of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – is once again on everyone's lips.

There may be a clue as to why Melania has chosen to speak out now in her complaint about 'false smears about me from politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name.'

She singled out organisations such as The Daily Beast, which was forced to apologise when Trump biographer Michael Wolff alleged on its podcast that Epstein introduced Melania to Trump – something the President has denied, too.

Melania says she met her husband at a New York Fashion Week party at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan in 1998 when she was a 28-year-old model.

She threatened to sue Wolff but the veteran author filed a countersuit, which Melania's lawyers are fighting to dismiss.

She also won an apology from publisher HarperCollins UK over allegations in Andrew Lownie's book Entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, which was forced to pulp copies containing claims Epstein had introduced the Trumps along with more outrageous claims about Melania's alleged 'relations' with Epstein.

Melania also threatened a $1 billion lawsuit against former President Joe Biden's son Hunter, who has also publicly suggested alleged nefarious links between her and the late financier.

Moments after Melania ended her speech and strode out of the Grand Foyer of the White House, I spoke to a legal source close to the Trumps, who told me the statement could be a canny legal move ahead of filing lawsuits against Wolff and others.

'In America, freedom of speech – the First Amendment – trumps pretty much everything. 

'The First Lady is a public figure so the onus in any defamation suit would be on her: to win, she would have to prove 'malicious intent' [on the part of the person making the allegation about her],' the source explained.

'Issuing this categorical denial is a clever legal manoeuvre. If people chose to make these allegations again, now she has very publicly said they are false, her lawyers would be able to argue malice. 

'And that's the difference between a lawsuit being dismissed and Melania potentially being awarded millions in damages. She's getting smart advice.'

While the timing might be part of a legal plan, her frustration at the speculation linking her and Epstein comes straight from the heart. 

'Melania has been fed up for a long time about the lies and innuendo. She wants to end the speculation once and for all and bring a guillotine down on the lies,' the source said.

'The internet is full of fake pictures and stories and they increasingly bothered her because it is easy for people who are caught in Epstein's web to suffer reputational damage. 

'This was a swift surgical strike. She read from a script and she didn't answer questions. It was precise and disciplined, like Melania herself.'

Paolo Zampolli, a model agency boss who introduced Melania to Trump at his Kit Kat Club, said he would be willing to testify under oath should there be a public inquiry about the affair, something Melania called for.

He said: 'I'm ready to testify in Congress, in front of Congress, to say who introduced the First Lady and I'm ready to bring another 50 witnesses to say they were present that night.'

Yet Zampolli himself has been drawn into the Epstein vortex as his ex, Amanda Ungaro, a victim of the paedophile, recently made posts to Melania's official X account, threatening to 'tell all.'

Some survivors of Epstein's abuse have criticised Melania for 'shifting the burden' onto them by calling for a public hearing.

Thirteen victims released a statement saying: 'Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports and giving testimony. Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.'

Last night there were calls for Melania to appear before Congress. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam sits on the committee which is investigating three million documents in the Epstein Files released by the Department of Justice in January. 

He said: 'If the First Lady wants to clear her name she should come before the Oversight Committee and testify under oath. Otherwise this is just a shameless book promotion.'

Melania acknowledged she sent Maxwell – serving 20 years in prison on child sex trafficking charges – an email in 2002 complimenting her on a magazine article. 

It read: 'Dear G! How are you. Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on [sic] the picture. I know you are very busy flying all over the world. 

'How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great time! Love, Melania.'

The First Lady said the message 'cannot be categorised as anything more than casual correspondence' while explaining photos of the Trumps with Epstein and Maxwell are merely because the social worlds of Manhattan and Palm Beach overlapped.

What is clear is that her speech reignited a scandal that has engulfed much of her husband's second term in office. 

'She might not like the spotlight but she chose to turn the spotlight on herself,' the legal source said.

'She wanted to extinguish the speculation surrounding her links to Epstein but in many ways she's fanned the flames again.'