Donald Trump has apparently decided that being heavily linked to a notorious sex trafficker, while bad enough to make him want to start a war to distract from it, is not as bad as being seen as a genocidal maniac.

So, it appears, he decided today to have his wife make an extraordinary statement at the White House, to change the subject back to the previous scandal.

At least that was one of the conclusions that could be drawn in the wake of First Lady Melania Trump’s appearance at which she said, “The lies linking me with Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. I’ve never been friends with Epstein. I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.”

The email correspondence to which she was referring began with the salutation “Dear G!,” included flattering references to a story about “JE” in New York magazine and to Ghislaine Maxwell’s appearance in a photograph. Then, following a question about a recent Maxwell trip to Palm Beach, Mrs. Trump concluded with a suggestion that Maxwell, now serving time for sex trafficking in federal prison, give her a call when she is next in New York City. It was signed “Love, Melania.”

Needless to say, given that the exchange is now a matter of public record, suggesting that the president’s wife never had a relationship with........

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