A newly released set of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, made public on Tuesday, contains several references to President Donald Trump, including records of flights he allegedly took on his former associate’s private jet, alongside other claims the Justice Department has described as “untrue and sensationalist.”
The release features previously undisclosed materials from investigations into Epstein, a wealthy American financier who died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking underage girls.
An earlier batch of heavily redacted files published last Friday had drawn criticism, with accusations that the Justice Department was deliberately delaying full disclosure and omitting references to Trump.
In contrast, Trump appears frequently in the thousands of documents released on Tuesday, although many of the mentions stem from media reports rather than direct evidence.
In response, the Justice Department quickly issued a statement defending the 79-year-old Republican president.
“Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election,” the department said on X, without identifying which allegations it considered false.
Trump, who has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, had previously sought for months to block the release of the extensive cache of Epstein-related documents, noting that Epstein was already a convicted sex offender when the more serious trafficking investigation began.
Pressure from within Trump’s own Republican Party eventually compelled him to approve legislation requiring the full release of the files.
That decision reflected mounting political pressure to confront what many Americans — including Trump supporters — have long believed was a cover-up designed to shield wealthy and influential individuals linked to Epstein.
Private jet trips
On Monday, Trump said he did not support the document releases, warning that individuals who had “innocently met” Epstein over the years could suffer reputational damage.
“Everybody was friendly with this guy,” he said.
He offered no immediate response to Tuesday’s release, instead posting on Truth Social about economic matters and other unrelated issues.
Trump maintained a friendship with Epstein for several years and has provided varying explanations for how their relationship ended.
He has claimed they fell out after Epstein “stole” young women employed at the spa of his Florida golf club, and has also said he expelled Epstein from the club for being “a creep.”
However, the newly released documents appear to strengthen evidence of Trump’s close association with Epstein, contradicting some of his earlier claims.
Among the records is a January 2020 note from New York federal prosecutors investigating Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, which details Trump’s repeated travel aboard Epstein’s private jet.
“Records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware),” the note states.
One reported flight allegedly carried only three passengers — Epstein, Trump and an unidentified 20-year-old woman.
Delays
Some of the references involving Trump — who has never been charged with any crime related to Epstein — cannot be independently verified.
One such reference appears in a handwritten letter purportedly written by Epstein from jail to Larry Nassar, the former US gymnastics doctor imprisoned for widespread abuse of female athletes.
In the letter, Epstein is shown complaining to Nassar about their imprisonment while claiming that the “president shares our love of young, nubile girls. When a young beauty walked by he loved to ‘grab snatch.’”
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the files contain an email revealing that the Justice Department had investigated “at least” ten possible Epstein co-conspirators.
“The Department of Justice needs to shed more light on who was on the list, how they were involved, and why they chose not to prosecute,” Schumer said.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers who co-sponsored the legislation mandating the document release — Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie — warned over the weekend that they could pursue contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to release all the materials by the previous Friday’s deadline.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attributed the delay to the need to redact identifying details of more than 1,000 Epstein victims contained in the records.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, remains the only individual convicted in connection with his crimes.
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