The Daily Beast on Monday issued a public apology to first lady Melania Trump and removed an article and a portion of a podcast episode after concluding the reporting did not meet the outlet's editorial standards.
The story, which alleged that Melania Trump was introduced to President Donald Trump through a modeling agent connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, had been pulled in July after the first lady’s attorneys challenged “the headline and framing.” The Daily Beast said it removed the article and a segment of The Daily Beast Podcast that referenced the first lady and apologized to both the first lady and its readers. Melania Trump shared the outlet's statement on X.
In a statement, The Daily Beast said the piece, headlined “Melania Trump ‘Very Involved’ in Epstein Scandal: Author,” was based on an interview with journalist Michael Wolff and "did not meet our standards and has therefore been removed from our platforms." The outlet also said it had taken down part of a podcast episode titled “Trump’s Epstein Scandal Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” that referenced the first lady.
Wolff originally made the allegations during an interview with Daily Beast chief content officer Joanna Coles about Mr. Trump’s alleged connections to Epstein, who was convicted on sex crimes and died in 2019. In the interview, Wolff said a model agent with ties to Epstein had introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump and asserted Epstein "knows her well." Wolff did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In July, he told Fox News Digital that he had nothing to do with the article.
The article's removal followed a legal challenge from the first lady’s attorneys, who disputed the headline and framing of the story. The Daily Beast said it had received the letter and, upon reflection, removed the content. The outlet did not provide further details about its editorial review or any corrections beyond the apology and removals.
Wolff's reporting style and credibility have been scrutinized in past controversies. His 2018 book Fire and Fury, a tell-all about the Trump White House, included passages that some readers interpreted as implying an extramarital relationship between President Trump and then-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Wolff later denied making such an assertion but also said he found it "puzzling" that Haley would deny something she had not been accused of, prompting a tense exchange on television that was cut short by a host. Multiple figures named in Fire and Fury have disputed quotes or phrasing attributed to them.
Legal pressure and disputes over sourcing and framing have prompted other news organizations to retract or amend stories in recent years, a reminder of the scrutiny that high-profile reporting often attracts. The Daily Beast's retraction adds to ongoing public attention around both Epstein's network and reporting practices related to the Trump family.
The Daily Beast did not announce whether it planned additional follow-up reporting or corrections beyond the removals and public apology. The outlet's statement, as shared by the first lady on X, described the memoir Melania as the first lady's definitive account of her life. Fox News Digital contributed reporting to coverage of the retraction.