Newly released emails from the House Oversight Committee show that Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender whose death by suicide continues to draw public scrutiny, mentioned Donald Trump several times over the past fifteen years in private correspondence. The emails, obtained by committee Democrats, include exchanges between Epstein, his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and author Michael Wolff, who has written extensively about Trump. According to the documents, Epstein discussed Trump in connection with a woman whom Democrats on the committee described as one of Epstein’s trafficking victims. In one message, Epstein claimed that Trump knew about the girls, appearing to reference the former president’s previous claim that he banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort for pursuing young women who worked there. The House Oversight Committee said the emails were secured after subpoenaing Epstein’s estate earlier this year. While the communications included frequent mentions of Donald Trump, there is no indication that Trump sent or received any of them. Officials also confirmed that the emails were written years before Trump entered the White House and that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein or Maxwell.
Jeffrey Epstein Emails Reveal Multiple Mentions of Donald Trump, Oversight Committee Finds
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized the release, arguing that Democrats were attempting to smear Donald Trump through selective leaks to the media. Leavitt said the stories were a political distraction meant to overshadow the administration’s achievements and the ongoing reopening of the government. Author Michael Wolff told CNN that he had been in contact with Epstein for research purposes, acknowledging that their exchanges touched on Epstein’s relationship with Trump but that he could not recall the full context of those conversations. One of the most discussed emails, dated April 2, 2011, shows Epstein writing to Maxwell that Trump had not yet been publicly linked to the scandal despite spending time with one of Epstein’s acquaintances. Committee Republicans identified that person as Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most recognized survivors, who died by suicide earlier this year. Republicans accused Democrats of concealing her name since she never accused Donald Trump of misconduct.
In her memoir titled Nobody’s Girl, Giuffre described meeting Trump in 2000 while working at Mar-a-Lago. She wrote that Trump was friendly and supportive, asking about her work and her experience at the resort. She did not allege any inappropriate behavior by him. Three years before the 2011 message, Epstein had served 13 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges involving the solicitation of prostitution with a minor. His plea deal, later criticized as too lenient, reignited public outrage and renewed investigations into his connections with powerful figures, including Donald Trump. Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a prison sentence for sex trafficking, said in an interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that she never saw Trump behave inappropriately and did not recall seeing him at Epstein’s home. She added that in her experience Trump was always a gentleman and only interacted with Epstein in social environments. The release of the emails has reignited debate in Washington over whether the federal government should disclose additional files related to Epstein’s case. Trump’s relationship with Epstein has been publicly discussed for years, especially since Trump’s Justice Department reaffirmed its conclusion that Epstein’s 2019 death was a suicide and declined to release further details.
In another exchange from January 2019, Epstein emailed Wolff regarding Trump’s claim that he had banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Epstein wrote that he was never a member and added that Trump was fully aware of the girls and even asked Ghislaine to stop.The White House has maintained that Donald Trump expelled Epstein from the resort for inappropriate behavior and that their friendship ended long before Epstein’s legal troubles escalated. A third email released by the committee, dated December 15, 2015, shows Wolff warning Epstein that CNN planned to ask Trump about his relationship with him during a Republican debate. Epstein responded by asking how Trump should answer, to which Wolff replied that it would be better to let Trump handle it himself, implying that the response could later be used for leverage or political advantage. While Epstein’s emails repeatedly referenced Donald Trump, no new evidence suggests that the former president engaged in criminal conduct. Still, the revelations have added fresh intrigue to one of the most controversial associations in American politics, ensuring that Trump’s name remains tied to the Epstein saga even years after the financier’s death.
source:CNN
