MELANIA’S SECRET MESSAGE: What really lay behind that ‘Love’ sign-off to Ghislaine Maxwell?
A gushing email exchange between first lady Melania Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was included in the latest dump of Epstein files.
In the first message from 2002, Melania praised a New York magazine article about Epstein and complemented the socialite now serving 20 years in prison for 𝒔𝒆𝒙-trafficking.
“Dear G! How are you?” it starts. “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture.”
At the time, the first lady was still Melania Knauss and was just dating Trump.
The pair were photographed with Epstein and Maxwell around that time, but the email appears to be the first written communication between Melania and Maxwell in the files.
Melania Trump, then Knauss with Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. / Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images
“I know you are very busy flying all over the world,” she continued in her email. “How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great time!”
She signed it “Love, Melania.”
A 2002 email from Melania Trump to Ghislaine Maxwell was released in the Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday, January 30, 2026. / Justice Department
In another file released on Friday, Maxwell responded to Melania’s email, addressing her as “Sweet pea.” Maxwell indicated that she would try to call her in her response.
“Actually plans changed again and I am now on my way back to NY. I leave again on Fri so I still do not think I have time to see you sadly. I will try and call though,” Maxwell wrote. “Keep well.”
The Daily Beast reached out to both the White House and the first lady’s office for comment.
The email exchange was among the more than three million additional pages of documents released by the Justice Department as required by law under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The document dump on Friday came six weeks after the deadline for the Justice Department to release all the files on the convicted 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender.
The Trump administration is accused of violating the law for failing to meet multiple deadlines in releasing the documents.
The latest document dump includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, according to the Justice Department, bringing the total documents released to date to 3.5 million pages.
An image of Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump, and Melania Trump in Tatler magazine, which was included in the Epstein files. / Department of Justice
While the latest release of documents included emails between the current first lady and Maxwell, files also included multiple emails that mention Melania.
Another email included in the document dump came from a redacted name to Epstein the day after the 2016 election. It starts with a comment on the sender being surprised by the election’s outcome and mentions Melania in a noticeable line.
“I remember flying back with Donald on his plane the first weekend I went to v=sit [sic] you in Florida was the weekend he met Melania and he kept on coming out=of the bedroom saying ‘wow what a hot piece of a–.’”
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
