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Democrats returned to pressing Donald Trump on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, highlighting a selection of emails in which the late financier and convicted sex trafficker suggested the president knew of his activities.
A congressional committee on Wednesday released some 20,000 pages of documents, pivoting attention away from the ongoing government shutdown and forcing the White House to respond to an issue that has frustrated the president and drawn scrutiny from parts of his base.
The trove of documents included emails in which Epstein — who died in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges — appeared to allege that Trump spent hours in a house with one of Epstein’s victims.
The new information came the same day that a new House lawmaker was officially sworn into office. Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, immediately signed a petition forcing a vote on legislation to compel the Justice Department to release files on Epstein.
“Justice cannot wait another day,” said Grijalva, who provided the decisive 218th signature on the petition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he will bring the legislation to a vote next week.
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump posted on social media. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
Trump has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein nearly two decades ago and was not aware of the late financier’s activities.
Still, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pushed for more information, pitting Trump against members of his own party. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina have said they would join with Democrats to force a vote for the DOJ to release the files.
The fissures in the GOP over Epstein have strained relationships in the chamber, with House Speaker Mike Johnson seeking to suppress the issue with little success.
Trump, as a 2024 presidential candidate, said he would declassify the DOJ’s files, fuelling pressure from parts of his base to provide more transparency over the sex-trafficking investigation.
The Justice Department in February said it had released information related to Epstein that was mostly “previously leaked.”
The case has long drawn interest from many Trump allies and spurred conspiracy theories about the late convicted sex offender’s associates and death, which was ruled a suicide. It’s also raised questions about the nature of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, what the president knew about sex-trafficking activities and whether the DOJ files contain more information.
Trump has expressed frustration with those questions, saying the media should focus on other individuals. In July, he told reporters he had “nothing to do with the guy” and that he “never went to the island,” appearing to refer to properties in the Caribbean where it is alleged that Epstein sexually abused and trafficked young women.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The House Oversight Committee—controlled by Republicans — has probed the government’s handling of the case since the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded in July that no new records from the 300 gigabytes of data that make up the Epstein files would be released.
Since then, Democrats have focused on the extent of Trump’s ties to Epstein, releasing specific emails to spotlight the relationship between the two men. The latest emails that dropped Wednesday came from Epstein’s estate.
“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump,” Epstein wrote in a 2011 email, without specifying if he was referring to the future president. He went on to say that a victim had “spent hours at my house with him” and that “he has never once been mentioned,” again without directly identifying whom he was referring to.
That email was sent to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein, who was convicted and is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in helping him with the sexual abuse of underage women.
“Democrats continue to carelessly cherry-pick documents to generate click-bait that is not grounded in the facts,” according to a statement from House Oversight Committee Republicans. “Democrats should stop politicising this investigation and focus on delivering transparency, accountability, and justice for the survivors.”
In a separate email with author Michael Wolff from 2019, Epstein wrote that “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” appearing to refer to the president’s request that he leave the Mar-a-Lago club. Epstein added “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
Epstein and Wolff in a 2015 email exchange also discussed Trump potentially being questioned by the press about the relationship. Wolff suggested Epstein had leverage over Trump, who was then running for president.
“I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency,” Wolff wrote.
A lawyer for Wolff did not respond to a request for comment.
“These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President,” Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately.”
Scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein increased earlier this year after the Wall Street Journal released a letter purportedly written by him to Epstein on a birthday. Trump has denied writing the alleged note, which House Democrats released earlier this year with another trove of documents related to Epstein. The president has sued Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., News Corp. and owner Rupert Murdoch for libel.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges, including procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. He was facing federal charges of trafficking underage girls when he was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty. Authorities said that Epstein committed suicide.
Read Also: Asian markets open on a subdued note as US stock futures edge lower
A congressional committee on Wednesday released some 20,000 pages of documents, pivoting attention away from the ongoing government shutdown and forcing the White House to respond to an issue that has frustrated the president and drawn scrutiny from parts of his base.
The trove of documents included emails in which Epstein — who died in 2019 while facing sex-trafficking charges — appeared to allege that Trump spent hours in a house with one of Epstein’s victims.
The new information came the same day that a new House lawmaker was officially sworn into office. Adelita Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, immediately signed a petition forcing a vote on legislation to compel the Justice Department to release files on Epstein.
“Justice cannot wait another day,” said Grijalva, who provided the decisive 218th signature on the petition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he will bring the legislation to a vote next week.
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump posted on social media. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
Trump has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein nearly two decades ago and was not aware of the late financier’s activities.
Still, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pushed for more information, pitting Trump against members of his own party. Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina have said they would join with Democrats to force a vote for the DOJ to release the files.
The fissures in the GOP over Epstein have strained relationships in the chamber, with House Speaker Mike Johnson seeking to suppress the issue with little success.
Trump, as a 2024 presidential candidate, said he would declassify the DOJ’s files, fuelling pressure from parts of his base to provide more transparency over the sex-trafficking investigation.
The Justice Department in February said it had released information related to Epstein that was mostly “previously leaked.”
The case has long drawn interest from many Trump allies and spurred conspiracy theories about the late convicted sex offender’s associates and death, which was ruled a suicide. It’s also raised questions about the nature of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, what the president knew about sex-trafficking activities and whether the DOJ files contain more information.
Trump has expressed frustration with those questions, saying the media should focus on other individuals. In July, he told reporters he had “nothing to do with the guy” and that he “never went to the island,” appearing to refer to properties in the Caribbean where it is alleged that Epstein sexually abused and trafficked young women.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The House Oversight Committee—controlled by Republicans — has probed the government’s handling of the case since the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded in July that no new records from the 300 gigabytes of data that make up the Epstein files would be released.
Since then, Democrats have focused on the extent of Trump’s ties to Epstein, releasing specific emails to spotlight the relationship between the two men. The latest emails that dropped Wednesday came from Epstein’s estate.
“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump,” Epstein wrote in a 2011 email, without specifying if he was referring to the future president. He went on to say that a victim had “spent hours at my house with him” and that “he has never once been mentioned,” again without directly identifying whom he was referring to.
That email was sent to Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein, who was convicted and is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in helping him with the sexual abuse of underage women.
“Democrats continue to carelessly cherry-pick documents to generate click-bait that is not grounded in the facts,” according to a statement from House Oversight Committee Republicans. “Democrats should stop politicising this investigation and focus on delivering transparency, accountability, and justice for the survivors.”
In a separate email with author Michael Wolff from 2019, Epstein wrote that “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” appearing to refer to the president’s request that he leave the Mar-a-Lago club. Epstein added “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”
Epstein and Wolff in a 2015 email exchange also discussed Trump potentially being questioned by the press about the relationship. Wolff suggested Epstein had leverage over Trump, who was then running for president.
“I think you should let him hang himself. If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency,” Wolff wrote.
A lawyer for Wolff did not respond to a request for comment.
“These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President,” Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. “The Department of Justice must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately.”
Scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein increased earlier this year after the Wall Street Journal released a letter purportedly written by him to Epstein on a birthday. Trump has denied writing the alleged note, which House Democrats released earlier this year with another trove of documents related to Epstein. The president has sued Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co., News Corp. and owner Rupert Murdoch for libel.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida charges, including procurement of minors to engage in prostitution. He was facing federal charges of trafficking underage girls when he was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty. Authorities said that Epstein committed suicide.
Read Also: Asian markets open on a subdued note as US stock futures edge lower
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