President Donald Trump on Monday raised doubts about the legitimacy of his name appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files, telling reporters in Scotland that he believes the documents may have been tampered with by political adversaries, including former Attorney General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director James Comey.
Asked during a press availability at his Turnberry golf resort whether the attorney general is required to inform him of such references, Trump replied:
“Well, I haven’t been overly interested in it. It’s a hoax that’s been blown way out of proportion. Those files were run by the worst scum on earth—Comey, Garland, Biden. They controlled them for four years.”
Calling the entire case surrounding the Epstein documents “a hoax,” Trump added, “If they had anything on me, it would have been released a long time ago. I was running against the people who ran those files.”
Trump also invoked the discredited Steele dossier, suggesting the Epstein files could similarly have been manipulated. “They can easily insert fake material. Christopher Steele made up lies and called it intelligence. That dossier was a fraud—and this could be too. These people are sick. Really sick.”
Trump on Pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell
Trump was also asked again about the possibility of granting clemency to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted trafficker and longtime associate of Epstein. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for her role in the trafficking of underage girls.
“I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump said. “But nobody has approached me about it. It’s been in the news, sure, but right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
His remarks echoed what he said last Friday: “It’s something I haven’t thought about… I’m allowed to do it, but it’s something I have not thought about.”
Epstein Files Still Haunting Political Landscape
Trump has faced increasing pressure from some of his supporters and transparency advocates to declassify the remaining Epstein files, which they believe could reveal high-level corruption and cover-ups. Epstein, a financier with deep ties to elites in business and politics, died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
In recent months, the release of partially unsealed court documents—known as “phase one” disclosures—revealed that Trump’s name appears multiple times, including in flight logs and Epstein’s infamous “black book.” Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and inclusion in the files is not evidence of criminal activity.
Still, his personal ties to Epstein have come under renewed scrutiny, especially after The Wall Street Journal reported that former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that his name had surfaced in the records.
Trump Reiterates He Banned Epstein From Mar-a-Lago
Trump also addressed longstanding rumors about his relationship with Epstein, reiterating that he banned the financier from his Mar-a-Lago resort years ago over inappropriate behavior.
“For years, I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump said. “He did something inappropriate—he stole people who worked for me. I told him not to do it again. He did, and I threw him out. That was the end of it. He was persona non grata.”
Background on Epstein and “The Island”
Epstein, once a high-flying financier with a mysterious fortune, was first convicted in 2008 for soliciting minors and later arrested in 2019 on far more serious federal charges involving an alleged trafficking network that targeted underage girls at his properties across the U.S. and Caribbean.
The most infamous of those properties was “Little Saint James,” a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. While many high-profile figures were known to travel aboard Epstein’s private jet, dubbed the “Lolita Express,” there is no verified evidence Trump ever visited the island. Though flight logs show Trump took the plane several times between Palm Beach and New York in the 1990s, none of the logs place him at the island.
Why It Matters
The controversy around Trump’s possible inclusion in the Epstein files remains politically volatile as the president seeks to steer the national conversation toward his policy agenda and away from long-simmering scandals involving Epstein and his elite social circle.
At the same time, the debate underscores broader concerns about trust in federal institutions, selective justice, and the use of unverified documents in politically sensitive investigations.
As Trump continues to question the integrity of the Epstein files, the pressure is mounting for full transparency—and clarity on what role, if any, political manipulation has played in the handling of one of America’s most notorious criminal cases.
