US lawmakers have publicly released over 20,000 pages of documents from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, a financier convicted of sex offenses who died in 2019 while imprisoned. These documents include communications that reference Donald Trump.On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published three email exchanges. These included correspondence between Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, as well as emails between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, known for his books about Mr. Trump. Shortly thereafter, House Republicans released a substantial collection of documents, stating their intent was to counter what they described as a Democratic effort to selectively release information and create a misleading narrative concerning Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump and Epstein maintained a friendship for several years, though Mr. Trump has stated their relationship ended in the early 2000s, prior to Epstein's initial arrest. Mr. Trump has consistently denied any involvement in wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Communications Involving Maxwell
A 2011 email released by Democrats shows an exchange between Epstein and Maxwell. In this communication, Epstein wrote 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". Epstein further wrote that Mr. Trump "has never once been mentioned," including by a "police chief." Maxwell replied, "I have been thinking about that..." The name of the victim was redacted in the version released by Democrats; however, the unredacted version in the committee's full release identifies the name as "virignia." The White House has stated this refers to Virginia Giuffre, an accuser of Epstein who passed away earlier this year. A White House statement asserted that Ms. Giuffre had "repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and 'couldn't have been friendlier' to her in their limited interactions." Representative Robert Garcia, a leading Democrat on the US House Oversight Committee, explained that the party withholds the names of victims in accordance with family wishes.
Communications Between Epstein and Wolff
Emails between Epstein and author Michael Wolff, also released by Democrats, detail discussions regarding Epstein's connection to Mr. Trump during Mr. Trump's initial presidential campaign. In a 2015 exchange, Wolff informed Epstein that CNN intended to question Mr. Trump about their relationship. Epstein then asked Wolff: "If we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be?" Wolff's response suggested that Epstein could "let him hang himself" if Mr. Trump denied being on Epstein's plane or at his residence, which Wolff suggested could provide Epstein with "valuable PR and political currency." Alternatively, Wolff noted, if Mr. Trump appeared likely to win the presidency, Epstein could "save him, generating a debt." Wolff also speculated that Mr. Trump might publicly describe Epstein as "a great guy and has gotten a raw deal and is a victim of political correctness." In an October 2016 email, shortly before the US presidential election, Wolff offered Epstein an interview opportunity that he stated could "finish" Mr. Trump and "garner you great sympathy." A third email from January 2019, during Mr. Trump's first term, shows Epstein telling Wolff that Mr. Trump claimed to have asked Epstein to resign from the Mar-a-Lago club, a membership Epstein stated he "never" held. Epstein further wrote that Mr. Trump "knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop." Following the release of these emails, Michael Wolff stated in an Instagram video that some of the communications were between him and Epstein, and that they discussed Epstein's relationship with Donald Trump. Wolff added that he had "been trying to talk about this story for a very long time now."