Former models’ claims may shed light on Melania Trump’s Epstein denial

A former model’s claims are potentially shedding light on why First Lady Melania Trump held a recent impromptu news conference to deny any involvement with Jeffrey Epstein.

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Just before that news conference earlier this month, former model Amanda Ongaro came forward about her former partner, ID Models owner Paolo Zampoli, who she said she met while underage. Ongaro has since been deported and is accusing Zampoli, who is now a member of the Trump administration, of orchestrating her arrest over custody issues.

Ongaro also alluded in various now-deleted social media posts that she has information on President Donald Trump and Melania Trump relating to Epstein. Both the president and first lady have denied any nefarious involvement with Epstein.

Meanwhile, Epstein’s interest in fashion was not in the business itself, but in leveraging the industry to gain access to young women who were hoping to grow their modeling careers.

Lisa Phillips was introduced to Epstein at age 21 while on a modeling shoot near his island. She endured years of abuse that she says she did not fully recognize until she was introduced to other survivors.

“The modeling industry was like, it was like a foundation of Epstein’s orbit,” Phillips told Scripps News.

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In March, more than 40 survivors connected with Model Alliance, a nonprofit calling for investigations to look into the impact of Epstein’s abuse in the industry. Phillips signed her name.

“Knowing that these people that I worked with and all these agency owners were sending emails back and forth to Epstein — I worked with all the biggest agencies for 10 years, and I just never knew that it was, they were all in with him,” Phillips said. “I never knew that.”

Documents released by the Department of Justice show that Epstein’s network helped obtain visas for young women, usually from Eastern Europe, as part of his scheme. Phillips said this was a legitimate business, but also a way to solidify a power dynamic. Many of the girls could not read English well enough to understand their own contracts and were taken advantage of financially.