A stream of revelations fueled speculation about Trump’s relationship with Epstein

Washington – The slow trickle of revelations about President Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein that has burdened the White House all year has turned into a flood after House lawmakers released a review of documents that suggest the president may have had detailed information about his friend’s criminal activity.

The scope of Epstein’s interest in Trump was revealed on Thursday when media organizations collected more than 20,000 documents from the convicted sex offender’s estate released by the House Oversight Committee, prompting a bipartisan majority in the House – up to half of Republican lawmakers – to pledge support for a related measure to file the Justice Department’s release of all investigations.

In an email discovered Thursday, sent by Epstein to himself months before he took his own life in federal custody, he wrote: “Trump knew.” The White House has denied that Trump knew about or was involved in Epstein’s years-long operation that sexually assaulted more than 200 women and girls.

The filing comes at an uncertain political moment for Trump, who is holding a 36% approval rating according to the latest Associated Press-NORC survey, and whose grip on the Republican Party and the MAGA movement has begun to wane as his last term in office ends and he heads into next year’s midterm elections.

Efforts by the Trump administration to quash the scandal have failed to dampen public interest in the case in the political arena.

The records paint the most comprehensive picture yet of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, the subject of endless fascination and conspiracy theories online, as well as growing bipartisan interests in Congress.

In several emails, Epstein, a notorious financier who maintained a close friendship with Trump in the mid-2000s, said the latter “knew about the girls” involved in his operation and that Trump “spent hours” in person. Epstein also claimed that he could “take him down” with damaging information.

In several exchanges, Epstein portrayed himself as someone who knew Trump well. The emails show how he tracked Trump’s business dealings and the evolution of the president’s political efforts.

Other communications show Epstein closely monitoring Trump’s movements early in his first term, at one point trying to contact the Russian government to share his “insight” into Trump’s motivations and thinking.

White House officials blocked efforts to release the files Wednesday, holding a tense meeting with the GOP congresswoman in the White House Situation Room, a move the administration said “demonstrates its willingness to meet with members of Congress to address their concerns.”

But New York House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the White House and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of “running a pedophile protection program” to try to block efforts to release the Epstein files.

A legislative effort in the House does not guarantee a vote in the Senate, much less bipartisan approval of the measure. And the president — who for months has lambasted his supporters for their repeated demands for transparency in the case — is certain to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

Epstein died in a federal prison in Manhattan in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner and the Justice Department’s inspector general.

As reporters sift through the documents in the coming days, Trump’s relationship with Epstein may remain elusive.

In an email Epstein sent to himself shortly before his arrest and death, he wrote that Trump knew about the financier’s sexual activity at the time he was falsely accused.

“Trump found out and came to my house several times during that time,” he wrote.

“He never got a massage,” Epstein added. Epstein paid the girls for “massages” that often led to sexual activity.

Trump blamed Democrats for the resurgence of the issue.

“Democrats are using Jeffrey Epstein’s hoaxes to try and avoid their biggest failures, especially their most recent – shutdown!” The president wrote in a social media post on Wednesday, hours after the recordings were released.

Trump made a public appearance later that day to sign legislation ending the government shutdown but declined to respond as reporters raised questions about Epstein after the incident.

Trump comes in several emails

The newly released transcript provides a rare look at how Epstein’s words relate to Trump in ways not previously known. In some cases, Epstein’s letters suggest the president knows more about Epstein’s criminal behavior than Trump does.

In the months leading up to Epstein’s arrest on sex-trafficking charges, he indicated in several emails to Trump that the latter knew about the financier’s victims.

In January 2019, Epstein wrote to author Michael Wolff that Trump “knew about girls,” as he discussed his membership at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private South Florida club and resort.

Trump has said he ended his relationship with Epstein because she “hired” one of his female employees at Mar-a-Lago. The White House also said Trump banned Epstein from his club because he was “a manipulator.”

“Trump said he asked me to resign, never a member,” Epstein wrote in an email to Wolff.

One employee was Virginia Geoffrey, one of Epstein’s survivors who died by suicide this year. Geoffrey said in a statement in the civil case that she never witnessed Trump sexually abusing minors at Epstein’s home.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee identified Geoffrey as one of the victims whose names were redacted in an April 2011 email.

In the email, Epstein wrote to Ghislaine Maxwell, a former friend who was later convicted of conspiring with Epstein to sexually assault minors, that Trump “is a dog that won’t bite.”

“[Victim] “Spent hours with him at my house,” wrote Epstein. He was never mentioned.

“I’ve been thinking about it…” Maxwell replied.

White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that the emails “prove nothing but the truth that President Trump did nothing wrong.”

News in late summer that Trump had written Epstein a sinister birthday card, drawing a silhouette of a burly woman with a note reading, “Maybe every day is another interesting secret,” raised fears in the West Wing that the files could reveal Trump’s extensive memories.