In a recent claim by author Michael Wolff, it was suggested that Donald Trump had mentioned being involved with his 28-year-old White House assistant to acquaintances linked to Jeffrey Epstein. The assistant, identified as Madeleine Westerhout, dismissed the allegations as baseless and detached from reality. This disclosure was part of a series of documents shared with Congress by Epstein’s estate, including a draft segment from Wolff’s 2019 book.
The draft highlighted Trump’s choice to spend the 2018 Christmas holiday at the White House instead of joining his family at Mar A Lago in Florida. Despite First Lady Melania Trump returning briefly to DC for Christmas Eve and Day, Trump stayed back citing the government shutdown as the reason.
Wolff’s draft text, altered in his book ‘Siege,’ insinuated Trump’s interest in Westerhout, describing encounters between them in the White House. Westerhout, a former member of Trump’s staff, denied the claims through her legal representative, labeling them as defamatory and false.
In a different account in her 2020 book “Off the Record,” Westerhout recounted her dismissal from the White House for indiscreet remarks about the President’s family, without mentioning any romantic involvement. Trump dismissed the document release as a ploy to divert attention from Democratic issues during the government shutdown.
Furthermore, Melania’s return from Mar a Lago for a Christmas event involved a controversial remark by Trump to a child about Santa Claus, causing displeasure among his aides. Trump’s responses on social media and his stance on the situation were also highlighted in the report.