Background: US lawmakers recently unveiled over 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender. Among these documents are emails that reference former President Donald Trump. The release, led by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, includes exchanges among Epstein, his long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and author Michael Wolff.
Epstein-Maxwell Emails: One notable email from 2011 shows Epstein writing to Maxwell, stating, "I want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him." While the victim's name is redacted in the Democratic release, the complete name, "Virginia," is visible in the full document tranche. This is presumed to refer to Virginia Giuffre, a known Epstein accuser. The White House emphasizes that Giuffre consistently asserted that Trump had no involvement in any wrongdoing, affirming cordial yet limited interactions between them.
Epstein-Wolff Emails: In emails with Michael Wolff, Epstein discusses his connection with Trump during the latter's presidential campaign. Wolff notified Epstein that CNN planned to question Trump about their relationship. Epstein's response inquired about the best strategy for Trump, while Wolff advised possibly leveraging the situation for personal or political gain.
Political Reactions: In reaction to the Democratic release, House Republicans unveiled a more extensive set of documents, accusing Democrats of cherry-picking information to construct a misleading narrative against Trump. The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, criticized the selective leak, reiterating that Trump had cut ties with Epstein due to his behavior towards female employees.
Despite these revelations, Trump maintains that he ceased associations with Epstein in the early 2000s, prior to Epstein's initial arrest, and denies any illicit involvement. Representative Robert Garcia, a leading Democrat on the Committee, clarified that victim identities would remain undisclosed to respect family wishes.