Epstein Emails Claim Trump “Knew About teh Girls,” Spark Document War in Congress

Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier accused of orchestrating sex trafficking of young women and underage girls, wrote in private emails released Wednesday by House Democrats that Donald Trump “spent hours at my house” and “knew about the girls.”

The release of the small batch of Epstein’s communications sent shock waves through Washington, prompting a panicked defence of the president from White House aides who accused Democrats of colluding with the media to smear him. It also triggered Republican lawmakers to release an additional 20,000 documents from Epstein’s private estate, a move democrats said was designed to distract from the implication of Trump.

But several of the documents shared by the Republicans added fuel to the fire, highlighting Epstein’s interest in Trump in the years after Trump claimed their friendship had come to an end, and suggesting the convicted sex offender had information on the president he was keeping secret.

By Wednesday afternoon, House Democrats – and a few Republicans – secured enough signatures for a petition that would force a chamber vote on the release of Justice Department files related to the Epstein investigation.

The drama began Wednesday morning, when Democrats released three of Epstein’s old email exchanges.

“Of course he knew about the girls,” Epstein said of Trump in an email to author and journalist Michael Wolff in early 2019, during Trump’s first term as president – one of three emails released by Democrats that Epstein sent to Wolff and to Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking after Epstein’s death.

A few hours after Democrats released three emails referencing Trump – and urged the Department of Justice to release all Epstein documents to the public – Republicans on the House Oversight Committee suddenly dumped a massive trove of documents, portions of wich are redacted.

Those files suggest that even after Trump won the 2016 election – a time when Trump has said he was no longer friends with Epstein – Epstein was deeply interested in Trump’s affairs and possibly involved in some way.

In May 2017, a New York Times reporter emailed criminal defense attorney Reid Weingarten, then a finalist for Trump’s outside counsel, seeking comment. Weingarten forwarded the email to Epstein less than an hour and a half later: “do you wont it? Or Jared?” he asked. It is not clear who Weingarten was referring to, but Jared Kushner was the president’s son-in-law and senior advisor at the time.

“Do I have the choice?” Epstein replied. “And if so, your view?”

Multiple people wrote to Epstein apparently under the belief that he could pass information along to Trump or people in his orbit.

In June 2017,someone whose name has been redacted sent Epstein an email with a link to a YouTube video. “How are u? Send this interview to Donald Trump pls,” the subject line read. “It’s going to be everywhere.”

“ok,” Epstein responded.

The documents released by Republicans show Epstein cultivating cozy relationships with national figures across the political spectrum,often for the purpose of gathering information and exploiting connections.

Emails Suggest Trump Knew More About Epstein’s Activities Than He Claimed

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released emails from Jeffery Epstein discussing President Trump.

It is not clear exactly when or how Trump and Epstein’s friendship came to an end.

When prosecutors brought federal charges against Epstein in 2019, Trump downplayed their relationship and said he hadn’t spoken to Epstein for 15 years. “I had a falling out with him,” Trump told reporters the day after federal authorities took Epstein into custody. “I was not a fan.”

In the emails released by Democrats, Epstein argued that Trump had more knowledge of Epstein’s affairs than he admitted.

In a 2019 email to Michael Wolff, which references a ‘victim’ whose name has been redacted, Epstein referred to Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago club: “Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member ever,” he wrote. “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

The White House, however, pushed back on the idea that Trump was implicated by that email to Wolff. “The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” said White House spokesperson liz Leavitt.

“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre,” leavitt added.

In another email dated Dec. 15, 2015, Wolff wrote to Epstein ahead of a Republican presidential primary debate: “I hear CNN planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you – either on air or in scrum afterwards.”

Epstein wrote back: “If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?”

In a memo released wednesday, the White House targeted Wolff as a journalist whose record is “riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies.” It cited concerns over his credibility documented in mainstream media outlets, including The Times, the Washington Post and others.