President Donald Trump says he knows “nothing” about newly disclosed comments by Jeffrey Epstein in which the disgraced financier claimed Trump “knew about the girls.”
Why It Matters
Democrats in the House of Representatives this week released emails in which Epstein discussed Trump. In one message, Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s victims and allegedly “knew about the girls.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House for additional comment via email outside of regular working hours.
In response, Trump has called on the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the FBI to investigate Democrats over their alleged connections to Epstein.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek: “These emails prove literally nothing. Democrats and the mainstream media are desperately trying to use this hoax as a distraction to talk about anything other than Democrats getting utterly defeated by President Trump in the shutdown fight. We won’t be distracted, and the entire Administration will continue fulfilling the promises the President was elected on, including cutting the Biden-era price hikes.”
Trump and Epstein were acquainted for years, though Trump has said they fell out in the early 2000s, before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
What To Know
In the newly released material, an email from Epstein to journalist Michael Wolff reads: “mara lago.. trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever. . of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine [Maxwell] to stop.” Wolff is a journalist and author who has written multiple books about Trump.
Asked by reporters on November 14 aboard Air Force One what Epstein meant by the comment, Trump replied: “I know nothing about that.”
“Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years,” Trump added. “But he also saw strength because I was president.”
Trump then shifted focus to others in Epstein’s orbit. “You’ve got to find out what did he know, with respect to Bill Clinton, with respect to the head of Harvard, with respect to all of those people he knew, including JP Morgan Chase,” he said.
Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 1998 to 2013. Spokesperson Patricia Wexler has said the bank regretted any association with Epstein but emphasized that it “did not help him commit his heinous acts.”
Trump subsequently urged the Justice Department and FBI to investigate Democrats with ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton. Attorney General Pam Bondi has confirmed that an investigation has begun, writing on X that, as with other matters, the department will handle the case with “urgency and integrity” to provide answers to the public.
Jay Clayton, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, has been tasked with leading the investigation.
Who Is Trump Calling to Be Investigated?
Clinton is the highest-profile figure Trump wants scrutinized over alleged links to Epstein.
Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet several times before Epstein’s 2008 conviction. Clinton has not been accused of any crime in connection with Epstein and has denied knowing about Epstein’s offenses.
Angel Urena, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, wrote on X this week: “These emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing. The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.”
Trump has also called for an investigation into former treasury secretary and former Harvard University president Larry Summers. Summers accepted philanthropic donations from Epstein while serving as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006.
Summers appears in the Epstein-related documents released on Wednesday, though he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. In a recent statement, Summers reiterated: “As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”
In a Truth Social post this week, Trump wrote: “Now that the Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans, to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN, and all of their other failures, I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him.”
Epstein died in a federal jail in New York City in 2019. His 2019 federal indictment alleged that he “sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes” in Manhattan and Palm Beach.
Prosecutors said Epstein also paid some victims to recruit additional underage girls. He faced a potential 45-year prison sentence at the time of his death. His associate Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
What Happens Next
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said lawmakers will vote next week on a bill requiring the Justice Department to release all files related to the investigation into Epstein and his associates.
