Overview

• The Daily Beast replaced the contested article with an editor’s note apologizing for any confusion after receiving a legal challenge over its headline and framing
• The removed story was based on Michael Wolff’s podcast claim that Melania Trump met Donald Trump in 1998 through modeling agent Paolo Zampolli, who had ties to Jeffrey Epstein
• Wolff’s original interview with The Daily Beast Podcast remains available on YouTube, with his remarks about Melania and Epstein beginning at the 26:36 mark
• Journalists and commentators have repeatedly questioned Wolff’s reliability, pointing to past disputes over factual errors in his books Fire and Fury and The Fall
• Melania Trump’s 2024 memoir recounts meeting Donald Trump at a New York fashion event with no involvement from Epstein, contradicting Wolff’s assertion