The January 6th committee accused Melania Trump of knowingly standing by while protesters entered the Capitol. They based their accusation on the claims of Stephanie Grisham who shared a screenshot supposedly to Trump.
It read:
“Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence?” Grisham purportedly texted Trump.
“No,” MT replied.
“Knowing her as well as I did at that point, it was so unlike her to not have condemned it, that that was the moment it all kind of broke me,” Grisham said in an interview last month with CNN. “Yesterday, hearing Cassidy’s testimony, I felt compelled to show that text because it was a lot of context I thought, and again, knowing Melania like I did, I was so disappointed and discouraged and sickened that she wouldn’t stand up and just say simply, ‘There should be no violence.’”
Trump told Fox News on Thursday during an exclusive: “I always condemn violence.”
“Had I been fully informed of all the details, naturally, I would have immediately denounced the violence that occurred at the Capitol Building,” Trump said. “And while Ms. Grisham’s behavior is disappointing, it is not surprising or an isolated incident.”
She added: “This is not the first time a former staffer has tried to maintain relevancy and profit by using my name to create a false narrative.”
“Ms. Grisham was not in the White House on January 6, and her behavior in her role as Chief of Staff ultimately amounts to dereliction of duty,” the former first lady told Fox.
“Traditionally, the First Lady’s Chief of Staff provides detailed briefings surrounding our Nation’s important issues,” she added.
Grisham has been highly critical of the former first lady and former President Donald Trump since she left her top post last year. She released a book blasting the Trumps. The former President dismissed her as a disgruntled former employee.